Runaway Pixie
by hansbmd
Summary: Alice hates her life in Chicago, so she runs away to Seattle. On the plane, she meets Jasper who asks her to come back to Forks with him and Rosalie. She says no, but will she change her mind? Will she tell him the reason for her running away? AJ, AH
1. New Life, New Friend

**AN**: Hello everyone! All right, this is my first Twilight story and I just had to make it about Alice and Jasper. They're my all time favorite couple. In this story, everyone is human and they all live in Forks, except for Alice, who is running away from Chicago. Also, I'm going to go ahead and apologize if some details are wrong, I've never been to Washington State in my life, so if something's wrong about Seattle or Port Angeles, I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy the story and please review!

**Chapter 1: New Life, New Friend**

The city of Chicago was a very noisy place at any hour of the day. Those who lived in the suburbs were very lucky to have a relatively peaceful lifestyle. The majority of the population loved their city, but for one young girl, she wanted nothing more than to get out as fast as she possibly could.

Her name was Alice Brandon. She had lived in Chicago her entire life and she had always loved it, but for the last eighteen months, it had gone from being a wonderful city to being her own personal hell. Because in those eighteen months, her father had walked out on his own family, and her mother had turned to alcohol just to deal with the stress of having to support her daughter on her own. Alice ended up having to support herself. Her father had said when he left that he wanted nothing more to do with either of them, and she still wasn't sure why he had said that. As far as she knew, neither her nor her mother had done anything wrong. But apparently they had or he wouldn't have left. She remembered that day as though it were yesterday.

_She had been sitting in the living room all afternoon doing her homework, instead of shopping at the Miracle Mile like she wanted to be. But she knew if she wanted to keep her allowance, she had to keep her grades up. But she couldn't really concentrate on her books. Her parents had been arguing a lot recently, more than they had done in months. She looked up when she heard yelling coming from the hallway. Curiosity got the better of her as she got up to see what was going on. The sight that met her eyes instantly worried her. Her father was dragging a suitcase down the stairs, her mother right behind him, crying and begging him to change his mind._

"_I said no, Meredith!" said her father. "I'm not staying in this house another second!"_

"_Please James, you can't just leave us!" said her mother. "On my salary, I'm not going to be able to keep this house for very long."_

"_It's not my fault you have a dead end job," said James. "You rely on me too much. I've always had to pay for everything around here! I pay the bills, I pay for school tuition, I've paid for every damn thing!"_

"_What about Alice?" asked Meredith. "I can't support Alice on my own. She's your daughter too."_

"_I want nothing more to do with either of you," said James. "I hate it here, I hate you! I've gotten a new job offer that takes me far away from here, and I'm going to take it. You're getting sole custody of Alice. Maybe this'll teach you both how to be responsible!"_

_And with that, he just slammed the door right in their faces. He hadn't even bothered to say goodbye to his own daughter. Alice just stood there, paralyzed, waiting for her mother to say something that might remedy the situation. But her mother just shook her head, saying to her daughter that there was nothing she could do. Alice started breathing very heavily, trying to make sense out of the whole situation, but she couldn't understand it. She'd always loved her father, she couldn't see why he'd suddenly walk out on them. She knew he'd been bitter for a few years about having to do everything himself, and he'd been lecturing her constantly on how she spent way too much money every time she went shopping, but she didn't think he'd get so fed up with them that he'd just leave._

"_Alice," began her mother, but she didn't want to hear it. She ran up to her room and locked the door, and she didn't come out for the rest of the night._

For the next eighteen months, she struggled to support herself while her mother started drinking. Soon after her father left, they'd moved into a smaller house that didn't cost nearly as much money as the other one. They'd had just enough money for her to finish her junior year of high school and after that she wasn't sure what she was going to do. College wasn't an option, not with the financial situation being what it was. Besides, she had to look after her mother all the time, so much in fact that she was beginning to hate her own daughter. She'd come home late at night, drunk as a dog and would start shouting at Alice in a voice loud enough to wake the dead.

One night, Alice was just lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering what the heck she was going to do with her life.

"Why didn't I see any of this coming?" she thought to herself. She meant that literally, because she did have a sort of foresight. Her hunches were stronger than most people's, so when she said something was going to happen, nine times out of ten, it did happen. But she'd never gotten the idea that her father would just leave, nor that her mother would start drinking heavily. She also hadn't expected what had happened early that evening.

_She was making a late dinner for herself, having just gotten home from one of three jobs she was having to work to support herself. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been shopping and it was driving her completely insane. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was getting to be about 10:00 p.m. She wondered where her mother was. Normally, she'd be at some bar, coming in at this hour would be a pretty rare occurrence. However, she was just cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when her mother came in. It was now 10:15. A rare occurrence, but not an impossible one._

"_Hey Mom," said Alice, in a falsely upbeat voice. "How was your day?"_

"_Why do you care?" asked her mother rudely. "Oh right, you're my chaperone, aren't you? You always have to know what is I'm doing every hour of the day. That's starting to get on my nerves, you know. I'm the one who's supposed to take care of you."_

"_Well, you don't do a very good job of that, do you?" asked Alice. "If you did, you'd be working three jobs and you wouldn't be drinking so much every night."_

"_Don't use that tone with me, Mary Alice Brandon," said her mother warningly. "If there's one thing you need to learn, it's how to respect your elders."_

"_That's one thing you and Father never really taught me," said Alice. She'd stopped calling him, "Dad" months before. "He said I should learn to be more responsible. That's all I've been ever since he left."_

"_I thought I told you never to mention him!"_

"_You can't boss me around anymore Mother! With the condition you're in, I'd say I'm more in a position to be the boss of you!"_

"_Why you insolent little brat!" And before Alice had a chance to comment, her mother had slapped her right across the face. That left the girl speechless. Her mother had never hit her before. She rubbed her cheek tenderly, already feeling it start to swell up a bit._

"_Get out of my house," said Meredith, in a dangerously calm, very sober voice._

"_W…What?" stuttered Alice._

"_You heard me, get out of my house," repeated Meredith. Alice, not knowing what else to do, ran up to her room and locked the door, before collapsing on her bed and crying. Her mother had never said that before, never treated her that indecently before. She couldn't imagine what had brought all this on. It wasn't just the alcohol, her mother wasn't nearly as drunk as she normally was when she came in. She really meant it, she wanted her own daughter to leave._

Alice finally ran out of tears to cry after an hour and a half. She rolled over and stared up at the ceiling of her room, trying to figure out what she was going to do with her life. She was brought back to Earth when she heard her clock beeping. She turned to look at it and saw that it was midnight. With a jolt, she also realized that it was now her 18th birthday.

"All right Alice," she thought to herself. "What do you want for your birthday?"

She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to leave. She didn't know where she was going to go, she just knew she had to get out. She got up and quietly went out around the room, gathering all her clothes and her most valued possessions. Because she hadn't been shopping in so long, she didn't have nearly as many clothes as she used to. Some of her old things she'd given away to Goodwill when they moved; she didn't have room for it in her new room. She folded all her clothes and managed to fit them all in one large duffle bag. The rest of her possessions she put in a travelling case, then she made sure her cell phone, her wallet and her Ipod were all in her purse. She then began to write a letter to her mother, telling her that she was leaving and not coming back. All she had to do now was wait for the bank to open in the morning, then go and withdraw all the money from her account. Once all her things were packed, she laid back in bed and waited for morning to come.

When she got up later that morning, she made sure she had all her things and then put on a pair of jeans and a pale blue blouse. As she finished getting ready, she caught herself in the mirror and gave herself a good long look. She had changed from the girl she'd been eighteen months ago. Back then, she'd been perky and upbeat, with a sparkle in her eye and a smile always on her face. She hadn't smiled in months and her eyes had lost the shine they once had. She'd lost weight too. She couldn't afford a car, so she was constantly running from job to job, taking a cab when she had enough money for it. All she ever ate for breakfast were a couple pieces of toast or a bowl of cereal, she didn't have time for lunch, and she just ate a small microwave dinner at night. It was enough to keep her going, but she was beginning to get very weak and tired from it. Her reflection only told her more that she was doing the right thing.

At about 8:45, she left the house and started for the bank. If she walked quickly, she could make it just after it opened at 9:00. As she reached the end of the street, she turned around and looked back at her house. Her mother wasn't up yet, probably sleeping off whatever she'd drunk after yelling at her own daughter. That house held nothing but sadness for her, not like their old house, which held all the happiness she'd ever felt, aside from that one day when everything changed. She turned around and started to walk back up the street, not looking back at the ghosts of her past again.

She reached the bank a few minutes after it opened, but when she asked for all her money, the clerk gave her a strange look.

"Please, I don't have time, just withdraw all the money and close my account," she requested.

"If you insist," said the clerk, bringing up Alice's account information. After a few minutes, $1,100 in cash was sitting in her wallet, all her savings from eighteen months of work at three small jobs. She wished she'd had more money to spend on her getaway, but she'd had to spend most of it to help pay the bills. She took a cab to the airport and tried to decide where she should go from there.

"I could go to New York," she thought. "But that would remind me too much of Chicago. Someplace small might be a good idea. I could go to San Francisco, that's far away and I could do a good bit of shopping. But that's still a really big town and there are tons of small places around it. Really, it would remind a lot of Chicago too." She was about to give up and randomly pick a place, but then one flight caught her eye. There was a plane to Seattle leaving in an hour and a half. There were tons of places she could go in Washington State, tons of small towns. She could find a place to live there.

Fresh determination burned in her eyes as she went up to the desk, bought a one-way ticket to Seattle and checked her duffle bag. It cost about a fifth of her money, but she didn't care, as long as this plane got her away from her mother and from this city. She sat in one of airport restaurants and ate brunch, though she wasn't nearly as hungry as she thought she'd be. Nerves and anxiety were beginning to overtake her.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she said silently. "I'm leaving the only life I've ever known and going somewhere to build myself a new life. What if I don't find someplace to live? What if I never finish my education? What if I never find a new family or someone to love me? No, I can't think like that. This is the right thing to do. I just need to find a place to go once I arrive in Seattle. Everything will be great, I know it."

When it was finally time to board, she took a deep breath and handed her boarding pass to the person at the desk. She walked with her head held high onto the plane, though with every step, her heart beat faster out of nerves. She found her seat and tried to lug her travelling case into the overhead bin, but she was too short. She'd always been called a pixie because of her stature; she didn't even come up to five feet. She tried to reach the compartment, but her fingertips only brushed the bottom edge.

"Do you want some help, Miss?" asked a polite voice. She turned around to see the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on standing right behind her. He had wild, dark blonde hair that fell over his beautiful, blue eyes, eyes that seemed to stare right into her very soul. This was the only time in her life she could think of when she'd been struck speechless. She was only able to nod her head, and he gave her a breathtaking smile. He took her bag for her and effortlessly placed it in the corner of the compartment.

She mumbled, "thanks," and took the window seat. She was both surprised and delighted that he took the seat next to her. For several minutes, she gazed out the plane window, not able to find a thing to say to the god sitting next to her. When it was time for takeoff, she gripped the arm rest and closed her eyes tight shut against the reality of what she was doing.

"Nervous flier?" asked the blonde beside her.

"Not exactly," she replied, shaking her head a little bit. After a few minutes, she got the courage to open her eyes again and looked out the window. Chicago stretched out for miles below her, the skyscrapers, the streets, the Mississippi River, all of it now soaring away from her, or rather she was soaring away from it. The reality of what she'd just done dawned on her and she began breathing very heavily, her heart and lungs constricting inside her chest, tearful sobs threatening to break forth.

"Are you all right?" asked the blonde in a worried voice. She turned to face him and saw concern written all over his features, an emotion she hadn't seen directed towards her in almost two years.

"I'm fine," she stammered, trying to get a grip on herself.

"Are you sure? Do you want some water?"

"No thank you," she said, taking several deep breaths.

She felt a hand on her hand and she looked down to see him holding her hand tightly in his. His other hand came up to lightly touch her shoulder and she could feel him rub circles into her back.

"Just breathe," he whispered. "In and out. Everything's all right, I promise."

Slowly, she felt herself calm down. He held her hand and comforted her until her breathing returned to normal and she felt she had control over herself.

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

He nodded at her and said, "you're welcome."

They sat in silence for a minute before she realized that he was still holding her hand. She looked down at their two hands and he followed her gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, blushing furiously.

"It's okay," she said, smiling and blushing shyly, turning back to the plane window.

"I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself," he said after a minute. He held out his hand and said, "Jasper Hale."

She took it and said, "Alice Brandon. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you Alice," he said. She looked away, slightly afraid of the look he was giving her. It wasn't anything really to be scared of, but to her, it was unusual. He looked at her as though he was beginning to like her, as though he genuinely cared for her, something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

After another moment of silence, he asked, "do you mind if I ask what was wrong just now?"

Alice hesitated. She wasn't sure she wanted to spill her guts to a complete stranger, but one look in those eyes told her she couldn't say no. "I'm leaving Chicago for the first time in my life. I'm going to Washington to make a fresh start. I guess it was the first time I'd honestly realized what I was doing. It's a little scary leaving the only place I've ever known."

"Why are you leaving then?" he asked, confused.

"It's…because…it's difficult to explain."

"Okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She appreciated the fact that he didn't push the issue any further.

"So what's in Seattle for you?" she asked him.

"I'm on my way home," he replied. "I live in this little town called Forks, a few hours outside Seattle. My sister's meeting me at the airport and we're going to have dinner with a few friends tonight."

"Oh," said Alice, unable to find anything else to say to that.

Jasper looked down at her, confusion and worry still clouding his mind. "She's been through a lot, I can tell by the circles around her eyes," he thought to himself. "She's too young to have lines like that around her face. I want to help her, but what could I possibly do?"

Suddenly, a thought came to him. He asked her, "so, what exactly are you going to do once you get to Seattle?"

Alice seemed startled at the question. She'd been so eager to get out of Chicago that she hadn't even thought far enough ahead to decide what she was going to do once she left.

"I…I don't know. I'll think of something," she muttered.

"Why don't you come with me?" he asked out of the blue, surprising himself. "Rosalie, that's my sister, she's a really good cook, good person, good friend. She can take care of you, help you get settled in. And I'll be there in case you need something. You have to face it, you need more than a plan, you need some friends."

Alice was shocked by the offer. She desperately wanted to say yes, but she knew that wasn't a good idea. She hardly knew this guy, for all she knew, he could be trying to set her up or something. She said, "that's very sweet of you, but no thanks. I wouldn't want to impose on you or cause you any trouble."

"No trouble at all," he said. "I think Rosalie would be glad to have another girl in the house."

"I'll think about it," said Alice, but she knew she wouldn't go with him, even though she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could.

He nodded and said, "tell me if you change your mind."

They spent the rest of the plane ride chatting, talking about their childhoods. Jasper even told Alice about some of his friends.

"Rosalie has a best friend, Isabella Swan," he said. "She prefers to be called Bella though. Then there are my two friends, Edward and Emmett Cullen. Edward and Bella are a couple, and Emmett and Rosalie are a couple. I've kind of been the odd one out in our group, you know what I'm saying?" Alice nodded.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm sure you'll find someone before too long."

Jasper gave her a strange look at that moment. It was like he was asking her if she was really seeing him or if she had picked up on what he was saying. She chose to brush it off and say that it was her imagination playing tricks on her. All the same, she wasn't sure why she was getting a hunch about this guy, a hunch that said he was the perfect guy for her.

So what was an almost four hour long plane ride only felt like a few minutes to Alice. She had such fun talking with Jasper that she didn't know where the time had gone. She'd also forgotten that they'd gained a few hours due to the time difference, so she reminded herself to check the time in the airport as soon as she saw a clock.

When they had landed and reached the gate, Jasper reached up and got Alice's bag out of the overhead bin for her. He walked with her to the terminal and they began walking towards baggage claim.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to come to Forks with Rosalie and I?" he asked.

"I didn't say I didn't want to, it's just that I'm not sure I can," she said.

"What do you mean, of course you can," he said confused.

"It's just that…I don't know how to explain it," she said. She just wasn't sure she was ready to be welcomed into a family, if Rosalie was going to welcome her at all. After what she had been through the last eighteen months, a real family would be nice, but she had to get herself straightened out first.

"At least let me introduce you to Rosalie," said Jasper.

"Okay," said Alice, thinking that was reasonable.

They walked through the terminal together, chatting aimlessly until they reached the area that was baggage claim. Alice looked through the crowd and saw a girl waving at them, or more likely, waving at Jasper. She had long, very curly blonde hair, the same shade as his, the same blue eyes and a figure that any girl would kill for. Just looking at her made Alice's already low self-esteem take a major plummet.

"That's Rosalie," said Jasper, and Alice felt herself backing away from him.

"Oh my god," she said silently. "I can't go over there looking like this, talking to that girl who looks like she could be on the cover of _Vogue_. I don't belong here, I don't belong with them, I need to go someplace else."

She began to see if she could escape from the two of them without being noticed. Thankfully, she saw how things could work in her favor quickly. Another plane had gotten in at the same time as hers, so a crowd of people were coming down a nearby escalator. Jasper walked quickly over to greet his sister and they were so glad to see each other that neither of them noticed Alice slip quietly into the throng of people heading for baggage claim. The suitcases from the flight from Chicago were already being rolled onto the conveyor belt, and she spotted her duffel bag easily. She grabbed it and began walking towards the exit, wondering if she could rent a car, but then realizing, she didn't have her driver's license. Her parents had never had time to give her lessons, and her father had refused to pay for someone to teach her. It was too expensive to book another flight, so she wondered if she could find a bus that would take her to a new place.

Suddenly, she heard a shout of, "Alice!" She turned back around and saw Jasper walking over to the conveyor belt to get his suitcase, Rosalie behind him, both obviously looking for her, but she didn't want them to see her. She hurriedly rushed out the door and found a shuttle that would take her to a city called Port Angeles, a couple hours away. She boarded the bus and quickly paid the bus driver. As she took a seat, she counted what money she had left and prayed it would be enough to get her a hotel room for a couple nights until she found a place to stay.

As the bus was preparing to leave, she heard another shout of, "Alice!" She looked out the window and saw Jasper and Rosalie dashing outside the building. Rosalie headed for the parking garage, but Jasper didn't follow her. He was looking frantically around the entrance. Alice shrank down in her seat, suddenly dreading the fact that she'd picked a window seat right next to the terminal entrance. She kept her eyes closed and prayed he wouldn't see her, but her wish didn't come true.

"Alice!" Jasper yelled again. She looked up and saw him running towards the bus she was on. At that very moment, the bus began to move away from the curb and pull into traffic.

"Alice, wait!" She knew Jasper was causing a scene at the entrance to the airport, but she got the feeling that he didn't care. She took one last look at him as the bus rounded the corner. The look of hurt in his eyes was far greater than any she'd ever seen. She could tell just by looking at him that he was trying to figure out why she'd run away from him, but she couldn't bring herself to ask the bus driver to stop. She just turned around and tried to block the image of Jasper's sorrowful expression out of her mind.

The two and a half hour drive to Port Angeles felt like a lifetime to Alice. She pulled out a book and tried to concentrate on it, but she just kept staring out the window. Listening to her Ipod didn't do much good either. She just gazed at nothing, wondering why Jasper had had such a pained expression on his face.

"He couldn't possibly care for me, could he?" Alice asked herself. "No, he couldn't. I mean, come on, we just met. There's no way he or anyone could have feelings for me anymore. I have to admit though, I like him. He's so kind and so polite, a real gentleman. Not to mention that I've never seen anyone _that_ handsome! He was just stunning. But I'm going to have to forget about him. I'll probably never see him again anyway."

All the same, she hoped that she'd meet up with him again someday and maybe then, she wouldn't run away when she saw Rosalie. That girl was too beautiful for hers and everyone else's own good.

When the bus stopped in Port Angeles, Alice took several minutes to look around the city and try and get a feel for it. Whether she liked it or not, this city was now her home. She stood on the sidewalk and just gazed at the different buildings. It was a nice medium sized city, not a large, bustling metropolis like Chicago was. But it wasn't very small either, and probably would provide her with some good places to shop, once she got her hands on enough money to spend on a shopping spree.

For one moment, her mind flashed back to all the happy times she'd spent in Chicago before her father left. She'd always been such a hyper, very active little thing, but the last eighteen months had made her lose her chipper edge. She was now a sad, young girl with no future. But she was determined to build a new life for herself.

Her eyes glazed over a little bit as a chill ran down her spine. Something bad was going to happen today. She didn't know what or who would be involved, but she did know that whatever it was, it wasn't likely to have a good outcome.

"I have to find someplace safe," she said aloud.

The problem was that she had no idea where to go that was safe. Finally, she stopped a man on the streets and asked for directions to the nearest hotel. She kept saying the directions to herself over and over again, but she easily got lost. A rumbling sound from overhead made her look up at the sky. Dark gray rainclouds were forming over the city and she sighed as she knew a storm was coming.

"Just my luck for deciding to move to the rainiest place in the continental US," she thought.

She kept moving but stopped when she saw two men walking towards her, with looks on their faces that sent several shivers down her spine. These two were dangerous. She turned around and began to walk the other way, but they followed her. She sped up, so did they. Every time she made a move to speed up or slow down, they did the same. Thinking she could slip away from them and hide, she ducked into a nearby alley and looked for a few barrels to hide behind, an advantage of being so small. Unfortunately for her, there was nothing. She began to run, her duffel bag banging against her hip as she ran down the alley and turned into another one. She could hear the footsteps of the two men behind her, which made her run even faster. She looked behind her and saw that they were gaining on her, smiling triumphantly. She turned back around and skidded to a stop, nearly avoiding colliding with a brick wall. She'd reached a dead end. She slowly turned around, breathing heavily, watching as the two thugs closed in on her.

"What were you running from?" asked the first one, in a voice of mock hurt. "I hope it wasn't from us."

"Yeah," said the second. "We aren't gonna hurt you."

But she knew better. She knew what they were going to do just by looking at the fiendish looks in their eyes.

"Please leave me alone," she said, trying to be brave, but she couldn't help the fact that the statement came out as a whimper of fear.

Both men laughed cruelly. "Aww, the little girl is scared," said the first one.

"Well we can't have that, now can we?" asked the second. "Why don't you come with us?"

"No," said Alice, very defiantly.

"Why not?" asked the first, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

"Don't touch me," said Alice, backing away from him, right up against the brick wall.

"Come on," said the second. "A pretty little thing like you shouldn't be out here anyway. You should be inside where it's warm and cozy." She hated the suggestive tone he was using towards her.

"Yeah what he said," said the other. "Just come on and don't worry about a thing." This time he full out grabbed her by the arm.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, trying to kick him where it hurt. But the other one had grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground. Considering both of them were at least a foot and a half taller than she was, she knew fighting them off would be next to impossible. She struggled, but he only laughed at her feeble attempts to get away. She did the only thing she could do and screamed at the top of her lungs, "HELP!"

This just made the two rogues laugh even more. "No one's gonna hear you, girl."

"HELP!" she yelled again. It was beginning to annoy the two men surrounding her.

"Shut up!" said the one holding her around the waist forcefully. She ignored him and screamed again.

"Shut up!" said the other one, grabbing her from his friend's arms, which hurt her more than she thought it would. Before she could try and fight him off, he'd slammed his fist against the side of her head, causing her to see stars.

"No!" came a voice from the other end of the alley. "Let her go!"

The man turned around to face whoever it was, dropping Alice out of surprise. She hit the ground very hard, hitting her head again. She was beginning to lose consciousness now, the last thing she saw before fading away was a girl standing over her, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. She knew those looks anywhere, which meant that a certain blonde-headed boy couldn't be too far away.

She managed to rasp out, "Jasper," before the darkness completely closed in on her.

**AN**: Well, that's the first chapter down. I'm not sure chapter titles and headings are going to work for this story, though I use them for all my stories. If y'all have any constructive criticism, tell me please. I love hearing what other people have to say about my stories. I'll have the next chapter up soon!


	2. Arrival in Forks

**AN**: Hello everyone! All right, so this takes place about an hour after the incident and we're back in Forks. Happy reading!

**Chapter 2: Arrival in Forks**

It took a long time for Alice to wake up from her little episode. Since she wasn't used to events like this, the trauma kept her asleep for a longer period of time than the head injury did. When she finally did start to rouse herself, she immediately tensed up. She could hear voices above her, but she couldn't make out whose they were or what they were saying. She tried hard to open her eyes, but they felt like they were being weighed down by chunks of metal. Her head was aching like crazy, particularly in the spot where she'd hit the ground. She tried to turn her head, but a pain shot through her skull, making her give a small cry and fall back onto the pillow. It was a feeble cry, but it was a cry all the same.

"Alice," said a soft voice.

"Mmhmm," she mumbled softly. She felt a hand lightly touch the side of her face, but she gave a small gasp and turned away from it. As she began to become more aware of her surroundings, she realized that she was lying on something soft, her head was propped up on a pillow and she could feel air coming from an air conditioner close by.

"Alice, please wake up," said the voice, now pleading with her.

"It's all right, just open your eyes," said a second, entirely different voice.

Alice gave a small groan and began trying to force her eyes open. She felt the hand touch her face again, but when she tried to turn away from it, it wouldn't let her go. Finally, her eyes cracked open just a little, but what she saw made her start to panic. Two men were standing over her, looking down at her with concern. But the concern didn't register in her mind. Her thoughts immediately went to the two villains who'd attacked her just a little earlier. She gave a small cry of fear and tried to back away from them, but she had nowhere to run. She was trapped.

"Alice," soothed a voice to her left. "Alice, calm down. It's all right. Nobody's going to hurt you. You're safe." She looked at the person speaking to her and felt her heart skip a beat. It was Jasper. She began to relax a bit and smiled at him and he breathed a sigh of relief. She then turned her attention to the second man, standing to her right.

"Are you all right, young lady?" he asked. She nodded.

"Alice, this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen," said Jasper. "I had Rosalie call him the instant we got here and he came to take a look at you."

"Where are we?" asked Alice.

"We're in my home in Forks," replied Jasper. "Rosalie and I brought you straight here."

"You're very lucky Alice," said Carlisle, taking a small light out of his bag. "If they hadn't found you when they did, who knows where you'd be right now. Look here." He held up one finger and shone the light into her eyes. She squinted her eyes a little bit, she didn't like bright lights shining in them, but she cooperated. Carlisle continued, "I took a look at your head, you hit it pretty hard, not to mention the fact that someone hit you right there. You might experience some post-traumatic stress, you might feel light-headed and dizzy. But as far as I can see, no damage was done. Try and take it easy for a couple days, but other than that, you should be just fine."

"Okay, thank you," said Alice, nodding slightly.

"Carlisle, Jasper," said a feminine voice from the door. "I made a really late lunch if you want to come down…" She stopped talking abruptly when she saw that Alice was awake, making Alice groan silently. It was the girl from the airport that had made her self-esteem take a nosedive.

"Oh, you're awake," said the girl. She walked further into the room and went to stand next to Jasper. She held out her hand and said, "hi, I'm Rosalie."

Alice shook her hand and introduced herself, but she stuttered it a bit.

"Are you hungry?" asked Rosalie.

Alice only then realized how hungry she really was. She remembered going to a restaurant at O'Hare International Airport, but she'd barely even picked at her food because she was so nervous about leaving Chicago. She just nodded, not really able to speak. She saw Jasper throw her a worried look, but she chose to ignore it.

"What did you make Rose?" asked Jasper.

"Just some soup," replied Rosalie. "Carlisle, are you going to stay and eat with us?"

"I can't, I have a little bit of work to do," replied Carlisle.

"Carlisle, it's Sunday, you were going to take today off," said Jasper exasperatedly.

"That was before I realized what an enormous stack of paperwork I had in my study," replied Carlisle, with a face that said he'd rather be anywhere else. "I'll see the two of you tonight." He walked to the door, but stopped, turned back around and whispered something in Jasper's ear. Jasper gave him a look that clearly said, "really?" and Carlisle nodded before saying goodbye and leaving.

"What was that about?" asked Rosalie.

"I'll tell you later," said Jasper. "Why don't you bring lunch up here?" She nodded and headed back for the kitchen. As she was leaving, she turned to her brother and winked at him. Alice looked curiously between the two of them, trying hard to figure out what was happening, but she wasn't very good at interpreting what people were trying to say without words. She just laid back on the bed and tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her head.

"Here," said Jasper, reaching for an icepack on the bedside table. "Hold this to your head. It's pretty swollen from where you fell."

"Thanks," said Alice. She was about to say something, but her cut her off.

"Alice, why did you run away from me?" he asked her. "I turned around to introduce you to Rosalie and you weren't there. You just disappeared and by so doing, scared the hell out of me. What were you thinking?"

"Jasper, have you taken a look at your sister lately?" asked Alice. Jasper looked puzzled. Alice continued, "okay, it may've escaped your notice that she's drop-dead gorgeous, whereas I am probably the plainest girl there is. And with the way my life's gone these last few months, I had no reason to be standing there talking with a girl that probably has the best life she could get."

She fell silent when she saw Jasper raise his hand at her to stop. "First of all," he said. "Rosalie is good-looking, that's true. God, Emmett practically drools over her. But she's very nice once you get to know her. Second, don't ever say that you're not beautiful yourself." Alice snorted with disbelief, but Jasper continued, "it's true. Don't let people tell you otherwise, because you are one of the most gorgeous people I've ever met. Third, what do you mean the way your life's gone lately? Something tells me that's the reason you left Chicago. You're running away from something Alice. What is it?"

"Please Jasper," said Alice, shaking her head despite the throbbing pain. "I don't want to talk about it."

He sighed and said, "okay," but she knew he wasn't going to let it drop.

Just then, Rosalie entered the room with lunch on a tray. "I hope you like baked potato soup," she said to Alice. "It isn't much but it's hot. I meant to make a grocery store run yesterday, but I had a ton to do."

"Mm hmm," murmured Jasper, clearly saying that he didn't believe her. She just gave him a look.

"Thanks," said Alice. They ate in silence for a few minutes, Alice devouring her food. Unfortunately for her, Rosalie noticed.

"When's the last time you got a decent meal?" she asked. "You're eating like you haven't even seen food in awhile. Now that I think about it, you look like you're just skin and bones."

"Uh," said Alice, not quite sure how to respond. She didn't want them to know she hadn't eaten properly in months. Two pieces of toast for breakfast, a microwave dinner every night and no lunch had been enough to get her by, but somehow she got the feeling that Rosalie and Jasper wouldn't approve if they knew.

"Yesterday," she lied. "I had a large dinner. I just didn't eat much breakfast, that's all."

"Uh huh," said Rosalie. Neither of the Hale siblings believed her, and she realized as much.

"I can't stay here," she thought to herself. "Jasper means well, I know he does, but I don't want them to find out the real reason I left home."

Deciding they needed a change of subject, she asked them, "so how did you guys find me? The last thing I remember is that guy holding me around the waist and then dropping me. I'm guessing it was you two showing up that caused him to do that."

"Yeah," said Rosalie, wincing a bit. "Sorry about that, I guess it must've hurt."

"It did, but how did you manage to get to me in time?"

"After I saw you on that bus, I asked around to see where it was going," began Jasper. "Luckily, Port Angeles is right on the way to Forks, so we followed you there. But by the time, we found that particular bus again, you'd already left. We asked the bus driver where you were headed, but he didn't know. He just pointed us in the general direction you'd gone in. We drove around for awhile, then we saw those two thugs run into an alley. I could see the smiles on their faces even from where I was standing. We followed them, but lost them. We were about to turn back to the main road, but then we heard you screaming. Rosalie went to see if you were all right while I took care of them. They won't ever bother you again, don't worry."

"Thank you, both of you," said Alice gratefully. The Hale siblings just nodded, each with a smile on their face.

"You should get some more rest," said Rosalie. "What with the jetlag and your little… episode in Port Angeles, you must be exhausted." Alice nodded. "Besides, you need to rest up if you're going out with us tonight."

"Whoa, what did you say?" asked Alice, obviously surprised.

"Carlisle's invited you to dinner," said Rosalie. "He told me on the way out that you're welcome to come with us."

"Thanks Rose," said Jasper exasperatedly. She just shrugged before leaving the room. He sighed and said, "leave it to Rose to spoil a surprise. Carlisle told me if I wanted to that I could bring you along for dinner tonight, we're eating at his place. I was going to officially ask you to come, but my sister as you noticed is kind of a blabbermouth."

"That's fine," said Alice. "I'm not sure I want to come anyway."

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"This is like your welcome home dinner. I don't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding, believe me. Esme, Carlisle's wife, is always glad to have all of us around. And she's been trying to set me up with every girl in town in the hope I'll find someone I want to be with. Hasn't worked so far. But I guarantee you, after Carlisle gets home and tells her about you, she's going to want to meet you."

Alice groaned. She really didn't want more attention drawn to herself. She was shocked really at just how much she'd changed since her dad left. Before, she'd loved being the center of attention, now she wanted to avoid it completely. Before, she'd been able to do anything she wanted, now she couldn't afford all the luxuries she'd had when she was a child. She hoped more than anything that she could just get her life back, then maybe she could be happy again.

"Something on your mind?" asked Jasper worriedly.

"No," lied Alice. She could tell he didn't believe her. Thankfully, she was starting to get a little sleepy anyway. Her eyelids began to droop and within minutes, she was sound asleep.

Jasper sat with her for awhile, lost in his thoughts, his eyes never once leaving Alice's petite form. He very carefully removed the ice pack from the sore spot on her head and laid her back down onto the pillow. When he saw her shivering a bit, he grabbed a blanket from the edge of the bed and spread it over her, all the while making sure not to wake her up.

"She looks so peaceful when she's asleep," he thought to himself. "But when she's awake, she's constantly running from something. She doesn't want me to know why she left Chicago and she doesn't seem to want to let me in. I have to find some way to get her to open to me. I just know she's something special, she just doesn't see it."

His mind drifted back to earlier that afternoon. Carlisle was right, if they hadn't found her when they did, who knew what could've happened. No, he knew what would've happened, and the thought scared him more than anything else. The thought that those two lowlifes had even touched her angered him as well. He only found comfort in the fact that she was safe now with him. He tried not to think about the whole chain of events, but before he knew it, he found himself immersed in the memories.

_When he saw his sister waiting for him at the bottom of the escalator, he smiled and walked over to greet her. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, not noticing Alice slip away._

"_How was your trip? How's Peter doing?" asked Rosalie, referring to a friend Jasper had gone to visit._

"_He's fine, he and Charlotte are doing well," replied Jasper. "How's the home front?"_

"_Quiet as usual," said Rosalie. "Who was that girl you were with?"_

"_What do you mean 'I was with'? She's right here," said Jasper, turning to look for Alice. But she wasn't there. He looked around, but didn't see her. Worry immediately clouded over his features, while Rosalie looked on in confusion._

"_Alice!" he called, moving over towards the conveyor belt. He didn't see her there either. He grabbed his suitcase, then began looking around for her again. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of purple the same shade as the sweater Alice was wearing, and he turned just in time to see her duck out the exit._

"_Come on, this way," said Jasper._

"_You look for her, I'll get the car," said Rose, taking his luggage and heading towards the parking garage._

_They left the building together and Jasper shouted again, "Alice!" But she'd already moved out of his site. He was getting scared now, very scared. He had to find her before she did something that could get her into trouble later. If she didn't watch herself, something terrible could happen. Just then, he caught site of her on a bus nearby._

"_Alice!" he shouted, seeing the bus pull away from the curb. He dashed after it, but he knew he wouldn't be able to catch up with it. He managed to catch a glimpse of her face and saw regret there, but she'd made her decision and that was to get away from him. He was angry with her, but more than that, he was hurt. He couldn't understand why she was running from him, what did he do to deserve that? But one thing was for sure, he couldn't let her go. She had no idea where she was going, she could get hurt or worse._

"_Excuse me sir," he said, stopping a guard nearby. "That bus, where's it going?"_

"_That one's headed for Port Angeles," said the guard shortly._

"_Thank God," whispered Jasper. He heard the sound of a car horn and turned to see Rosalie's red convertible pull up next to him._

"_Home?" she asked._

"_No, not yet," said Jasper. "See that bus up there at the red light?" She followed to where his finger was pointing and saw a large bus very far ahead of them that was preparing to turn left as soon as the light changed. She nodded and he continued, "it's headed for Port Angeles. Alice is on it. Come on, we have to catch her."_

"_Why?" asked Rosalie. "What's so important about this girl?"_

"_She's important to me, Rose," replied Jasper. "I felt something when I was sitting with her on the plane, something special. She has a quality I can't help but admire, I'm still not sure what it is. I felt like I could tell her anything, she probably knows more about me right now than you do."_

"_You were actually speaking to someone openly about yourself?" asked Rosalie, pulling into traffic. Jasper nodded. She gawked at him. "You're the reserved one in our group. When we go over to Carlisle and Esme's place to eat, you barely speak and even then, it's only when you're spoken to."_

"_Something about her just made me want to talk to her," said Jasper. "She's special. Can you please hurry?"_

_Rosalie made it to the traffic light the bus had been at and made the left hand turn just before it turned red. She saw the bus up ahead and moved over into the lane it was in. She knew Jasper wanted them to get closer, but with so many cars on that street, she knew it wouldn't be an easy task._

"_You're lucky Port Angeles is right on the way home," she said. "If it weren't for the fact that you've been alone too long, I wouldn't bother with this at all."_

"_I know," said Jasper shortly, his eyes fixed on the bus. They followed it in silence for the entire two hour drive, always making sure they had it in their sight. As they reached the outskirts of Port Angeles, they had to stop at a red light, which in turn meant that the bus gained a fair bit of distance over them. By the time the light turned again, they had already lost the vehicle._

"_It has to be around here somewhere," said Jasper. "I saw it turn down that road." He pointed with his finger and Rosalie turned the car down the narrow street. They saw the bus further down the road and saw that people were already filing off of it. Rosalie parked at the curb a few yards behind the bus and shut off the engine. Jasper had already reached the bus, but didn't see any sign of Alice._

"_Excuse me sir," he said to the bus driver. "There was a girl on here, dark hair, wearing a purple sweater, probably about five feet tall, did you know where she went?"_

"_Of course not," said the driver exasperatedly. "Why would I know that?"_

"_Which way did she go then?" asked Jasper, getting desperate._

"_That way," said the driver, pointing down the road. Jasper didn't even pause to thank him. He jumped off the bus and began running down the road in the direction the man had pointed. He saw that Rosalie had gotten back in her car and was driving down the road to catch up with him. She slowed down enough for him to jump back in the passenger's seat and they drove along the streets looking for any sign, any clue that might lead them to Alice._

"_Jasper, I don't think we're going to find her, let's just go home," said Rosalie defeat clear in her voice._

"_No! We can't just leave her Rose, we have to keep looking," said Jasper, in such a forceful tone that she kept driving. He kept his eyes peeled and finally, he saw it, a flash of purple going down an alley._

"_Stop the car!" he said suddenly. "I thought I saw her." But then he saw something that made his blood run cold. Two men were running down the alley after her, men that looked as though they had what one would call a fun night on their minds. Anger like he had never felt before ran through Jasper's mind and he jumped out of the car even before Rosalie had put it in park. He ran towards the alley they'd gone down and looked everywhere for them. But there were many side passages, they could be anywhere._

"_All right, where do we go from here?" asked Rosalie, appearing at his side._

"_I don't…" he began but was cut off by the sound of a girl screaming. Fear coursed through his veins. It was Alice. "Come on!" he shouted, running in the direction the scream had come from. He heard another scream, much closer this time and he prayed he'd get there in time. He rounded a corner and saw to his horror that one of the men had grabbed Alice from behind around the waist and was preparing to drag her away, kicking and screaming. One had just hit her in the side of the head, subduing her screams._

"_No!" yelled Jasper. "Let her go!" He saw the men turn around to look at him, dropping Alice as they did. She fell to the ground hard and didn't get back up. Rage, fear and adrenaline overtook him as he ran forward, delivering a punch to one of the men. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rosalie kneel down next to Alice, but before he checked on her condition, he had to get rid of these thugs._

"_That was a dangerous move, my friend," said the one that had hit Alice._

"_I'm not your friend," said Jasper, punching him in the face. The other one came up behind him, but he ducked, spun around and grabbed hold of the man's arm, twisting it painfully in front of him. The man fell to his knees out of pain and to make sure he stayed down, Jasper kicked his legs out from under him, leaving him sprawled on the ground. The first one rounded on him, but by grabbing his arm and kicking at his legs, he sent the other one sprawled onto the ground as well. He glared down at the two of them, rage burning in his eyes. They managed to get to their feet and ran as quickly as they could back down the alley and out of sight._

_Jasper took several deep breaths, trying to calm down enough so that he could help Alice. He ran back over to where she was lying, still and cold. Rosalie was looking at up like she'd never seen him before._

"_I've never seen you that angry before," she said, almost fearfully._

"_How's she doing?" he asked, ignoring her comment and turning his attention to Alice._

"_Just as I reached her, she muttered your name and fell unconscious. I can't get her to wake up."_

"_Oh my god," whispered Jasper as he looked at her head. There was a lump beginning to swell from where she'd hit it. He brought one hand to lightly caress the side of her face and said, "Alice, can you hear me?" She didn't answer. He carefully scooped her up in his arms and started back down the alleyway, saying all the while, "we have to get her home."_

"_Shouldn't we take her to a hospital?" asked Rosalie._

"_I'm not letting anyone see her but Carlisle," said Jasper. "I wouldn't trust anyone else with her."_

"_But he's not on duty today," said Rosalie._

_Jasper looked confusedly at her and said, "what do you mean? He's at the hospital every day."_

"_He's been working overtime all week so he could take today off and spend it with Esme and the guys," replied Rosalie, just as they reached her car._

"_When we get back to Forks, tell him to come over and take a look at Alice," said Jasper._

_Rosalie just nodded and climbed in the driver's seat. She started the engine, put the roof up as it was starting to rain, and drove as fast as she could while still staying within the speed limit. Jasper sat in the backseat, Alice's head in his lap._

"_Alice," he whispered. "Wake up please. Give me some sign you're all right."_

_She groaned a few times and turned her head, but she didn't open her eyes. Every time she did, his chest swelled with hope, only to let out a sigh of disappointment. He just held her hand and murmured quiet words to her the entire ride home. When they were about twenty minutes from home, Rosalie got Carlisle on her cell phone and told him to meet them at their house and he got there just after they did._

Now, sitting in his guest room, he couldn't describe how much relief he felt when he heard Carlisle say that Alice was going to be all right. He didn't know how he knew, but Alice belonged there with him.

A soft knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and he saw Rosalie come back into the room.

"How's she doing?" she asked, coming to sit by him.

"She's resting," he replied. "I think she'll be okay by tomorrow."

"Good," said Rose, looking down at Alice. "What do you know about her Jasper?"

"Not much. All I know is she's from Chicago and she's never left it before today. She told me some things about her childhood, but she avoided saying anything about the last few months."

"When you first saw her, what kind of impression did you have of her?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It strikes me that she's afraid of something," replied Rosalie. "She was lying when she said that she ate a good dinner last night. Look at her. She's just skin and bones, she hasn't eaten properly in weeks, possibly months."

"A few nights of Esme's home cooking will change that," said Jasper with a smile. But then more seriously, he said, "you're right. She's afraid of something and she's hiding from something. She wouldn't tell me why she was leaving Chicago and I didn't pry for an answer. But the way she acted when she first got on the plane, she almost had a panic attack. She almost regretted leaving, like she was doing it because she had to, not because she wanted to."

"Do you think we'll ever get her to tell us?"

"I hope so. I want her to feel welcome here with us."

"So do I, so do I," said Rosalie. And with another smile and a wink, she was gone.

Jasper smiled and shook his head. He knew too well what that smile meant. She had always been able to see right through him. She could tell how he felt about Alice just by looking at him. He looked down at Alice's sleeping form, glad to see that she was smiling slightly. He may not have known that much about her or why she left Chicago, but looking at her, he realized with a jolt that he was hopelessly in love with her.

**AN**: All right, that's chapter 2. I was going to put, "unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her" at the end but I decided that it was too wordy so I changed it to hopelessly, which I think sounds better. I'll put the next chapter up as soon as I'm done with it. Stay tuned!


	3. Dinner with the Cullen's

**AN**: Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update, but there's a bunch of stuff I'm working on other than this story. I have to admit, out of all the stories I've written, I think this one is my favorite. Keep in mind in this chapter, we're still on the same day that Alice left Chicago, we've just skipped ahead a couple of hours. Happy reading!

**Chapter 3: Dinner with the Cullen's**

When Alice woke up, she found Jasper still sitting beside her bed and found herself in much better spirits. In fact, she felt better than she had in months, because she knew she was in the presence of someone who genuinely cared for her. She didn't understand why, but just knowing that Jasper was there for her gave her more comfort than anything else.

"Hey there sleepyhead," he teased lightly.

Alice rubbed her eyes to get the sleep out of them and asked, "how long have I been asleep?"

"About two hours," said Jasper, glancing down at his watch. "Perfect timing, I was about to wake you up anyway."

"Why?"

"Because we're having dinner at 6:00 and Rosalie wants to go through your clothes with you," said Jasper, rolling his eyes. "She wants to take you shopping as soon as she can. She might be able to talk Bella into coming too, but I say good luck with that."

He couldn't resist smiling when he saw Alice's face brighten up at the word, "shopping."

"Did you say shopping?" she asked. Jasper nodded. A large grin appeared on Alice's face as she thought of her first real shopping spree in eighteen months. "Well, you just tell Rosalie…"

"Tell me what?" came the voice of the blonde girl standing in the doorway.

"I've just heard you'd like to go shopping," said Alice.

"I love shopping, I know some really good places to go in Port Angeles," said Rosalie. "If you'd like to go, I'll snag Bella and we'll have a girl's day out." She grinned at the smile on Alice's face. She continued, "let me ask you though. That duffel bag, is that all your stuff?"

"Yeah it is," replied Alice. "It's all I wanted to bring anyway."

"Or all she had that she could bring," Jasper thought to himself.

"Jasper," said Rosalie sternly, suddenly pointing to the door. "Out!"

"You mean I'm not allowed to hang out with two gorgeous girls?" he asked playfully.

"Not when they have girl stuff to talk about, now out!" said Rosalie.

Jasper just shook his head and walked out the doorway, casting one last glance at Alice as he did. She blushed when she met his eyes, very glad that he couldn't read her mind. She turned her attention back to Rosalie, who was now digging voraciously through the duffel bag, throwing everything onto the bed to be sorted out and hung up.

"You have some nice stuff here," said Rosalie, holding up Alice's favorite blouse.

"Yeah I do," said Alice simply. She'd kept all her favorite clothes when she and her mother moved and she'd brought them all with her now to Forks.

"I'll say this for you, you've got good fashion sense," said Rosalie. "Not many people here do, but…" She looked disapprovingly at the short-sleeved blouses and light sweaters. "We're going to need to get you some warmer clothes. These aren't going to last long in Forks. It rains all the time and its cold most of the time. The only time it's ever warm is when the sun is out."

"Just how often is the sun out?" asked Alice.

Rosalie thought for a moment, then shrugged and said, "once a month."

There was a minute of silence, then Alice said, "so tell me more about your friends. Jasper mentioned them a little on the plane, but he didn't go into details."

"That's because he's too much of a gentleman to tell you everything about them," said Rosalie. "But not me, I like to speak my mind. Let's see, first there's Bella. She's sweet as honey, but she's the clumsiest girl on the face of the earth. Seriously, she can't walk across a flat surface without finding something to trip over. Her father's the chief of police, so watch what you do around here."

Alice nodded and said, taking a minute to make sure she got the name right, "Jasper also mentioned the Cullen's?"

"Yeah, Edward and Emmett," said Rosalie. "Once you see them, you'll be able to tell instantly that they're not related, so I'll go ahead and tell you the story. Carlisle and his wife, Esme, can't have kids, so they decided to adopt. They took in Emmett after his parents died when he was five years old. He barely remembers his real parents, so he instantly took to Carlisle and Esme. The guy seriously isn't afraid of anything. He enjoys everything life throws at him. I don't think I've ever seen him without a smile on his face. That's what I love most about him, he can just look at life with a smile and the confidence that everything's always going to turn out all right.

"Then there's Edward. Carlisle and Esme adopted him about two years after they got Emmett. Edward's very shy, it took him much longer to accept them as his parents, but he did eventually. The only time he isn't shy is when he's with Bella. He acts like she's the most precious thing on this earth. Takes for her walks in the park, sits and plays the piano for hours on end, he wrote a composition just for her. They even have their own, private little spot in the woods that none of us are allowed to see. I only even know about it because I heard her mention it in passing to him one time."

"Then, you've already met Carlisle. He's one of the most gracious men I've ever met. He feels compassion for everyone and everything. That's what makes him such a good doctor, not only because he helps his patients with whatever problems they have, but he treats them so well, very patient, very kind. And Esme is the same way. She loves us all so much, I don't think it's possible for her to feel hate."

"How did you meet them all?" asked Alice.

"Well the Cullen's were already living in Forks by the time we moved here, so was Bella," replied Rosalie. "Her mom remarried a minor league baseball player and they wanted to go on the road, so Bella decided to come up and live with her dad. She's been here for about four years now and she loves it, especially since she met Edward. Then Jasper and I moved here about a year ago from Houston. Our mom died when we were young and our dad's been supporting us ever since, but he travels a lot. As soon as Jasper and I were old enough to stay at home by ourselves, he started travelling more often and staying away for longer periods of time. He'd been doing a lot of work in Seattle, so we moved up here to be closer to him. We were going to get a house there, but one day, we decided to drive around the countryside. We were out for hours. Finally, we drove through Forks, and we liked the feel of it so much that Dad bought us this place. We met Edward, Emmett and Bella on the first day of school."

"I'm sorry about your mom," said Alice. "I'm sorry you don't get to see your dad very often too."

"It's fine," said Rosalie. "We had our friends down in Houston to keep us company and now we have the Cullen's. That's where Jasper was on his trip, visiting his two best friends in Houston, Peter and Charlotte. He stopped in Chicago to visit Dad. He left for some sort of business trip there about two weeks ago."

Tears came to Alice's eyes as she thought of her parents, and how similar her situation was to Rosalie and Jasper's. She hadn't seen her father in months, since he'd walked out on her, and he was probably travelling the world, not even thinking about her and her mother. And she'd more or less lost her mother ever since that fateful day. But instead of accepting it and moving on like the Hale siblings had, she was running away from her problems.

"Are you okay?" asked Rosalie, noticing her friend about to cry.

Alice quickly wiped the tears away and said, "I'm fine." A thought came to mind and she couldn't help the resentful edge to her voice when she asked, "who's Charlotte?"

Rosalie looked over and saw what looked like jealousy in Alice's eyes. She smiled and said slyly, "don't worry, she and Jasper are just friends. He thinks of her as his sister. Besides, she and Peter are getting married in March and Jasper and I are going to be Best Man and Maid of Honor. Believe me, if Jazz was in love with Charlotte, he wouldn't have agreed to it, nor would Peter have asked him."

The two girls hung up all the clothes in silence, Rosalie afraid to say anything that might upset Alice, and Alice not finding anything to say that would make things less awkward. Finally, Jasper called from downstairs saying they'd have to leave if they wanted to make it to the Cullen's place by 6:00.

"It's twenty 'til," said Alice, glancing at the clock. "Where do these guys live?"

"Out of town," replied Rosalie. "They have this big mansion in the woods."

Alice stared at her when she heard the word, "mansion." It was bad enough being around Rosalie gave her self-esteem a huge blow, though that had changed in the last hour and a half, but being around people that were probably mega-rich made it all the worse.

"I just hope I don't run off again," she thought miserably.

The two girls went downstairs to find Jasper waiting for them in the hallway, the keys to the convertible swinging off his finger. Rosalie reached for them, but Jasper pulled his hand away at the last second, holding the keys high above his head, where she couldn't reach them. He smiled at the irritated look on her face.

"Give me the keys Jasper," she said, looking him straight in the eye.

"Can't I drive just once?" he asked.

"That car is my baby, no one drives it but me."

"I thought Dad bought it for us so that we could share it, not so that you could hog it."

"He bought it especially for me, because he could tell I wanted it so badly."

"Then why didn't he buy me one as well?"

"Because you were so wrapped up in that motorcycle of yours."

"I'd hate to break up this little love fest," said Alice, stepping in between the two of them. "But you two do want to be on time for dinner, don't you? I'd rather not get there after everyone else has sat down to eat."

"We'll go as soon as Jasper gives me my keys," said Rosalie defiantly.

Jasper rolled his eyes and lowered his hand enough so she could reach her key ring. She jerked it off his finger with a glare and walked out to the garage, climbing into the driver's seat of her BMW without another word. Jasper just smiled and rolled his eyes as he followed her out to the car.

When they got to the garage, Alice saw the car sitting there proudly and next to it, she saw a handsome black motorcycle.

"Is that yours, Jasper," she asked, gesturing to it.

"Yep, do you want to go for a ride sometime?" he asked her.

"Uh," she stuttered a moment. Her mom would have a fit if she found out her daughter had been on a motorcycle, but then she remembered that her mom was hundreds of miles away and probably didn't even notice she was gone.

"It's not that hard to ride," he said. "Someday, I'll take you for a ride on it." She looked at him hesitantly. He just smirked back at her, then opened the back passenger's side car door for her. She smiled her thanks at him and slid in the backseat. He got in the passenger's seat in front of her and turned to give her a reassuring smile as though he could sense how nervous she still was. She leaned back in her seat, deciding to take the time to relax herself before she walked into a house full of strangers.

"I hope you're hungry," said Rosalie. "Esme makes enough food to feed an army. We all have dinner at the Cullen's place every Wednesday and Sunday nights, and most of the time, Emmett gets all the good servings of food. There's another thing, you'd better be ready to fight for your share of the meal."

"Rose, don't exaggerate," said Jasper exasperatedly.

"I'm not exaggerating," said Rosalie. She continued to argue that she was right, that she was telling the truth about Emmett, despite the fact that she loved him. Alice just listened to the two of them, bickering like two siblings should, and in those minutes, she wished more than anything she had what these two had. She wished she had someone there to look out for her, someone to be there when she needed someone to talk to, she wished she had a family. Rosalie and Jasper not only had each other, but they had the Cullen's, and though she hadn't met them yet, Alice knew that all of them were family.

A few minutes later, they had left the town of Forks and were driving through the county. Trees lined the road on either side stretching out for miles and miles. Alice couldn't understand it, where would someone live all the way out here? Finally, Rosalie turned the car down a gravel drive, the entrance of which was so well concealed by the leaves and branches that if you did not know where to look, you would miss the turnoff extremely easily. After a minute of driving down an avenue of trees, they arrived at a sight Alice couldn't believe.

"Wow," she whispered as she gazed out her window. The Cullen home was a mansion, one of the grandest homes she'd ever seen. Three stories high, large glass windows and a garage that could hold at least six cars were all in her range of vision. Inside the garage, she could clearly see a black Mercedes, a silver Volvo, a large jeep that looked like it could cut across any terrain, and an old, red pickup truck, which looked out of place among the snazzier cars. Rosalie pulled easily into the garage in between the jeep and the truck and shut off the ignition.

"Do they mind us parking in the garage?" asked Alice as Jasper opened her door for her and held out his hand to help her out.

"They don't mind," replied Jasper, as she took his hand and allowed him to lead her towards the garage steps which led into the house. "That truck there is Bella's and she lives several blocks away from us."

"Who do the other cars belong to?" asked Alice.

"The Mercedes is Carlisle's, the Volvo is Edward's and the jeep is Emmett's," replied Jasper. "Whenever Esme needs a ride, she usually borrows one of the cars and more often than not, it's Edward's car."

"Will you two hurry up?" called Rosalie, who was standing at the base of the steps waiting for them. Suddenly, the door at the top of the steps was flown open by a man who seemed to resemble a small mountain. One look at him told Alice that he could crush her in half a second if he wanted to. She gave a small squeak of fear and tried to hide behind Jasper, which wasn't hard considering how short she was, but he just chuckled, took her by the hand and led her forward.

"Hey Emmett," said Rosalie, leaping up the few steps and jumping into the arms of the guy in front of her. He laughed and swept her up in his arms, simultaneously kissing her on top of the head.

"Hey Rosie," he said, setting her down on her feet. It was then he noticed Jasper there and said, "Jazz! How was your trip?"

"Hey Emmett," said Jasper, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "My trip was fine, it was good to be back in Houston for awhile."

"And who's this?" asked Emmett, peering around Jasper's shoulder at Alice. She scooted further behind him, trying to block herself from sight completely. "You must be that girl Dad told us about. He said you'd be joining us tonight."

Jasper stood aside so that Emmett could get a proper look at Alice. "Whoa," he said. "You're like a little pixie."

Alice smiled nervously and said, "thanks, I get that a lot. I'm Alice."

"Emmett," he said and he gave her a very gentle smile. It only took a second for her to realize that despite his build, he was a teddy bear at heart. He took Rosalie's hand and led her through the doorway, a very goofy grin appearing on his face as he gazed at her. Jasper just rolled his eyes and shook his head at the two of them.

Feeling a little bit more relaxed, Alice let Jasper lead her into the main house. The garage door opened up onto a short hallway, which judging by the scrumptious smells coming from the end of it, led to the kitchen. They entered the large room and Alice saw a large, very modern looking kitchen, with hardwood cabinets, stainless steel appliances and a very beautiful tile backsplash. Rosalie and Emmett were sitting in the breakfast nook talking with a girl with long, mahogany colored hair and brown eyes and next to her with his arm slung over her shoulder was a boy with very messy, bronze hair and a sort of crooked smile that he saved for when he was looking at her. Carlisle was leaning against one of the cabinets, next to a woman with long, caramel colored hair who was putting the finishing touches on dinner. They all looked up when Alice and Jasper entered the room.

"Hi, you must be Alice," said the woman with caramel hair, wiping her hands off on a dishrag and coming over to say hello. "I'm Esme, it's nice to meet you." And to Alice's surprise, she reached out to give her a hug instead of just a simple handshake. Jasper just threw a sideways glance at Alice that told her that was how Esme was and to just go along with it.

"It's nice to see you again," said Carlisle, extending his hand to Alice, which she took shyly. "I'm glad you decided to join us."

"Thank you for inviting me, Dr. Cullen," said Alice politely.

He gave a little chuckle and said, "please, it's Carlisle. Dr. Cullen sounds too much like my father."

"Oh I get it," said Emmett, suddenly breaking into the conversation. "So you want us to think of you as someone young, right?" The whole kitchen burst into fits of laughter, even Carlisle who had turned red slightly.

The two sitting with Rosalie and Emmett at the table stood up and walked over to say hello. The girl with mahogany brown hair extended her hand to Alice and said, "hi, I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Edward," said the boy with messy, bronze hair. "It's a pleasure."

"All right, introductions over," said Esme, earning a wave of gratitude from Alice. "Dinner's ready. Rosalie, would you help me get everything into the dining room please?"

Rosalie nodded and grabbed a large salad bowl off the counter, which she proceeded to carry into the dining room. Esme followed her with a large bowl of spaghetti in one hand and she attempted to carry a bowl of sauce as well, but Jasper, ever the gentleman, took it from her and followed his sister into the dining room. Alice gazed after him, thinking just how much of a gentleman he was. He had comforted her on the plane, followed her all the way to Port Angeles, rescued her from those thugs, taken care of her when they'd gotten back to Forks and now was helping Esme with dinner. She wondered at how a guy like that didn't have a girlfriend, and she realized just how she was beginning to feel for him. But she wasn't going to hold her breath that he'd pick her for a soul mate.

She was jerked out of her thoughts as Bella took her by the arm and led her into the dining room, a friendly smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. For one minute, Alice thought she saw Bella's eyes dart between her and Jasper, but as she struck up a conversation, the thought vanished from her mind.

"So Alice, how are you enjoying Forks?" she asked.

"I haven't seen much of it yet," said Alice. "I've been asleep most of the afternoon. But so far, I'm not complaining."

"I said the same thing when I met Edward," said Bella. "I thought I'd hate it here when I moved. I'd spent a couple weeks here every summer when I was a kid, but that was years ago. My first day of school, I met Edward and Emmett and suddenly I knew I'd made the right decision."

Alice thought she knew the meaning behind that little story and she also saw the way Bella's eyes darted between her and Jasper again, but again, she let the thought vanish from her mind as they sat down to eat.

"Here Alice," said Jasper, pulling a chair out away from the table. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Yes, thank you," she said with a smile, blushing a little bit. He smiled and pushed her chair in for, then took the chair next to hers.

"That's Jazz for you," said Emmett, sitting next to Rosalie, not seeming to want to remove his arm from around her shoulders. "He'll treat you like you're the Queen of Forks."

"Thanks Emmett," said Jasper, shaking his head slightly.

"Em, don't exaggerate," said Rosalie, lightly punching him in the arm.

"I'm not exaggerating and that hurt," said Emmett, rubbing his arm.

"You're such a big baby," said Rosalie, rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him.

Alice couldn't help but smile at the antics of the group surrounding her. She let out a smile giggle which only Jasper heard. He glanced at her and gave her a gentle smile and she smiled back at him. It was then she realized that they all had what she had wanted for several months now: they were a family. Even though none of them were really related, they were a family. Carlisle and Esme loved them all unconditionally and had adopted Emmett and Edward because they wanted to. Then when Bella, Rosalie and Jasper had all moved to the area and befriended the two Cullen boys, Carlisle and Esme had welcomed them with open arms. They were all a family and in that moment, Alice wished that she was one of them as well, not some outsider sitting at their dinner table.

Throughout the meal, Alice could tell that Jasper was lightly steering the conversation away from her, to which she was grateful. Considering that she hadn't given him much information about herself on the plane ride over, he was pretty sure she wouldn't want to spill her life story to a group of strangers. He kept the topic of conversation on his trip to Houston and asked about what had happened in Forks while he was away. She had to commend him for that, he was very subtly nudging the topic away from her and while she voiced her opinion on whatever was being said, no one spoke to her directly about her life.

After dinner, they decided to sit outside on the deck. It was a beautiful night with no clouds, no rain, rare in Forks. The sun was beginning to set, sinking lower and lower behind the trees surrounding the Cullen property. The sky was filled with radiant colors of red and gold, streaking across the heavens, but steadily being replaced by inky black, and the first stars began to make their appearances. Alice had never seen a more beautiful sight. She'd never had time to look at the scenery around her in Chicago, but here she could stop for a moment and appreciate the beauty that surrounded her from all sides. She settled back in a recliner on the porch, closed her eyes and soaked up the last of the sun's rays.

"Alice," whispered Jasper's voice. She opened her eyes to see him smiling down at her. "Are you enjoying yourself?" he asked.

"I am, thank you Jasper," she replied, and for the first time in a long time, she really was.

"Alice," said Bella, breaking into their private moment. "You've barely told us anything about yourself."

"She's right," said Edward. "I think it's safe to say that we're all curious about you Alice."

Alice uncomfortably felt everyone's eyes on her. She met Jasper's nervous glance and knew he wouldn't be able to steer the conversation away from her so subtly this time.

Apparently, the others could sense her uneasiness. "Is everything okay?" asked Bella.

"Fine," said Alice, a bit stiffly. "What do you want to know?"

"Where are you from? Why did you decide to move here? How about telling some funny stories in your life?" said Emmett, never one to mince words. Rosalie threw a disapproving glance at Emmett, which he didn't see. Even if he did, she doubted he'd have understood it. But even though it was only a couple hours, she'd spent enough time around Alice to know that they'd have to take it slow if they wanted to get to know her.

"I'm from Chicago," she said, choosing her words carefully so as to avoid more questions. "Let's just say things weren't exactly going my way, heck, I didn't have much of a life there at all. I just finally decided I needed a change, got on a plane to Seattle and met Jasper on the flight over."

"How old are you?" asked Carlisle, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"Eighteen," she replied. It was then she remembered that it was still her birthday, but she didn't want to tell anyone that just yet. If they knew it was her birthday, they'd all start making a fuss over it, which she really didn't want.

"What about your parents?" asked Esme. "Aren't they worried?"

"I'd rather not go there if you don't mind," replied Alice, her voice getting an icy edge to it.

No one knew really how to react to this. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she didn't have to look up to know that it was Jasper's. She knew he was trying to calm her down and it worked a little bit. She forced herself to relax and smiled her thanks to Jasper. He let go of her, but rather reluctantly.

"All right, no talking about parents," said Edward. "What do you like to do for fun?"

"Shopping primarily," said Alice and with that, Bella let out a groan that broke the nervous tension that had descended around the group.

"I was so hoping you wouldn't say that," she whined. "Rosalie's already crazy about shopping. I don't need someone else to drag me out to the mall every single weekend." Everyone laughed at that and Jasper was glad that a smile was back on Alice's pretty face.

"Hmm," said Rosalie. "Alice, I think we're going to have to do something about her."

"Something? Something like what?" asked Alice, but she was smirking at Bella.

"Something to make her appreciate shopping a bit more," replied Rosalie, also smirking. Bella's face, which was normally pale anyway, lost all its color. Her eyes darted fearfully between the two other girls, wondering what they were going to do. The boys all began laughing at the expression on her face, Carlisle and Esme were both trying hard to hold back chuckles.

"I think we should drag her to the mall on Saturday and spend the _entire day_ there," said Alice. "From dawn 'til dusk, nothing but nonstop shopping." Bella's eyes were as wide as saucers by now and they could all tell she was trying to stifle a scream.

"Not only that," continued Rose, "but the three of us will get ourselves all made over and looking nice."

"Great idea. Bella, your skin's way too pale, you need some serious color on your face."

"Not to mention something to bring your eyes out. And your nails need some work too."

Bella couldn't help herself now. She let out a shriek of terror and darted inside the house, hearing the laughter of everyone else behind her. Alice didn't think she'd ever meet someone that against shopping and getting a makeover, but then again, there's a first time for everything.

"Oh my god, that was priceless," said Rosalie, in between fits of laughter.

"Has she always been like that?" asked Alice.

"Always, she hates the mall," replied Rose, still trying to contain her laughter.

The conversation resumed on another topic, each of them now knowing that Alice wasn't going to say anything more about her life in Chicago. After about ten minutes, Bella poked her head cautiously out the patio door.

"Is it safe to come out?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes sweetheart, it's safe," said Edward, getting up to drag her back outside.

"Where did you disappear to, Bells?" asked Emmett, a wide grin still on his face.

"None of your business," replied Bella, but everyone just rolled their eyes at her.

Seeing her confused look, Jasper whispered to Alice, "she locked herself in Edward's room."

"Why there?" she whispered back to him.

"Because she thinks since it's Edward's room, she's automatically protected from anything and everything, especially if he's there with her," he said, rolling his eyes at his friend's antics.

Alice shook her head and giggled a little. Suddenly, she realized that she'd done more laughing that day than she'd done in months. She thought she'd forgotten how to laugh or even smile, but one day with Jasper, Rosalie and the Cullen's had brought out the cheerful side in her again.

They talked for another hour before Bella happened to glance at Edward's watch. "Oh man, is that really the time?" she asked, looking down at it again.

"Ten 'til 10:00, yeah, why?" asked Edward, looking at himself.

"I'm supposed to be home in ten minutes, I'd better go," she said, getting up and heading back inside.

"We probably ought to head on too," said Jasper, throwing his arm around Alice's shoulders and gesturing at them and Rosalie.

"Would you guys like dinner here on Saturday?" asked Esme.

"After a long day of shopping, that'd be great," said Rosalie, glancing sideways at Bella.

"Thanks for dinner Esme, Carlisle," said Bella, hugging both of them.

"It was delicious," said Alice. She reached out to shake hands, which Carlisle responded to, but Esme leaned in for a hug like she did at the start of the evening. Alice hugged her back somewhat awkwardly and followed the others into the garage.

"Nice meeting you Alice," said Bella, smiling kindly at her.

"You too," replied Alice. She watched as Bella leaned in to kiss Edward good night, before getting in her truck and driving off. Rosalie and Emmett kissed good night as well, leaving Alice to wonder if she would ever find her soul mate. She also wondered if Jasper would ever consider choosing her for a girlfriend, but she highly doubted it.

"All the same, he would be quite a catch," she thought to herself as he opened the car door for her. She crawled into the backseat, pausing to say goodbye to the Cullen's as she did. They stood on the steps leading back into the house and watched as Rosalie pulled the car out of the garage and into the night.

The ride back to the Hale residence was spent in silence. When they got there, Rosalie asked Alice if she wanted something hot to drink before bed, but Alice politely declined.

"Actually, I'm really tired, I think I'm heading up to bed," said Alice.

"Still jetlagged?" asked Rose and Alice nodded. "Good night then."

"Good night and thanks again for today."

"No problem," said Jasper. "And welcome to Forks."

When Alice got to her room, she collapsed onto her bed without even bothering to change into her pajama's. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking of Jasper, Rosalie, Bella and the Cullen's, all of whom she was beginning to consider as her family. She knew she shouldn't, she didn't know how long she was going to stay in Forks, but she knew the longer she stayed, the more she'd grow to love these people and think of them as her family. Giving a small groan, she tried to push these thoughts out of her head and will sleep to come to her, but she knew it wouldn't. She could hear Jasper and Rosalie downstairs arguing over what movie they were going to watch. She laughed and closed her eyes, again willing herself to fall into her dreams, but she stayed as awake and alert as ever.

She tossed and turned for hours before finally giving up and turning the bedside light on. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was 11:10. She'd been trying to fall asleep for close to an hour. She got up out of bed and silently made her way downstairs, thinking a glass of warm milk might help her fall asleep, though she doubted anything short of a sleeping pill would help her first bout of insomnia.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she paused as the sound of voices reached her ears. She followed them to the living room and saw that Rosalie and Jasper were still awake. They were sitting with their backs to the doorway talking quietly, but loud enough so that Alice could make out most of their conversation.

"What do you think is going on Jasper?" asked Rosalie. "She obviously didn't want to talk about her home life. Do you think something happened to her to make her leave Chicago?"

"Something had to have happened," came Jasper's deep voice. "A city like Chicago, you don't leave unless you have a really good reason. That place has just about everything, I can't imagine why you'd grow to hate it and leave."

"How do you know she hates it? Did she say as much on the plane?"

"No. I could tell she was afraid, deeply afraid. She was on the verge of tears once we got up in the air. But when Emmett and Edward started questioning her about why she left, I could see a deep resentment in her eyes. At first, I thought it was for them, but then I thought, 'how could it be? She's only just met them.' Then I realized the resentment was for the topic, not the people asking about it. She stiffened when she said she was from Chicago. She was stiff throughout the entire conversation."

"Then when Esme asked her about her parents, she flipped out. Do you think she doesn't have parents?"

"I don't know, Sis. She might not have or she might've grown to hate hers. The only way to find out is to wait for her to tell us."

"But what if she doesn't?"

"She will, eventually she'll open up to us and tell us everything."

Alice had heard enough. She silently crept back upstairs and into her room. She got back into bed and turned the light out, hoping against hope that if either Jasper or Rosalie came upstairs, they'd think she'd been asleep the entire time.

"I can't stay here," she said out loud. "I'm not going to be able to keep silent for very long. Sooner or later, they're going to find out the real reason I left Chicago and when they do, they're either going to make me go back, or they'll just be so disappointed I didn't tell them that I'll have to leave then anyway. Maybe I should go to San Francisco after all." Sleep was finally beginning to overtake her and as she was beginning to drift off, she muttered, "although I have to admit it, I couldn't have asked for a better time tonight. Happy 18th Birthday Alice." She fell into a light sleep, her head filled with thoughts of Jasper.

What she didn't know was that Jasper was standing right outside the door to her room, listening to every word she was saying. He'd come up only a minute before to see if she was all right. He'd heard her go back upstairs and knew she'd heard his and Rosalie's conversation in the living room. What she said surprised him and for some reason, broke his heart.

"She can't leave," he whispered as he walked back to his room. "I want her here, I _need_ her here. What am I saying? I just met her. I just met her and in spite of that, I need her. I'll just have to trust that she'll tell me her secret when she's ready to, I can't push her. And oh my god, it's her birthday? Why didn't she tell us? Wait, I know how to show her she's welcome here and at the same time, wish her a happy birthday." He went to bed with a smile on his face and thoughts of Alice in his head.

Alice slept in the next morning, still tired from the plane trip. But when she awoke, she felt reenergized and ready to take on the world. She looked over at her clock and saw that it was after 10:00 a.m. She showered and got dressed and as she was leaving her room to go in search of breakfast, she found a gift for her in the hallway by her door.

"When did these get here?" she asked aloud as she picked up a bouquet of a dozen red roses from the floor. There was a card stuck in the middle and she pulled it out and read it silently. What it said brought a wide smile to her face.

_I hope you decide to stay in Forks. You know we're all glad to have you here. Happy Belated Birthday Alice!_

_Love,_

_ Jasper_

Remembering her thoughts from last night, Alice couldn't help but smile as whispered, "on second thought, maybe I'll stay here awhile."

**AN**: All right, that's another chapter done. I know I had Alice a little out of character at the beginning of the story, but I'm trying to get her back to the Alice that we all know and love, the hyper little pixie. I couldn't help but put that little scene in there with her and Rosalie torturing Bella with shopping and makeovers. I'll have the next chapter up in the next few days. Stay tuned!


	4. Settling In

**AN**: Hello everyone! I decided to repost this chapter because there were some things in I decided that I had to change. For instance, I decided Alice had to ask if it was all right for her to stay the night at the Cullen's and when Bella told the story of how she met Rosalie and Jasper, I wanted to have that in flashback mode instead of her just telling it. I think it captures the spirit of the scene a bit better. Happy reading!

**Chapter 4: Settling In**

The next week was the most enjoyable one of Alice's life. She spent all of her time with Jasper, Rosalie, Bella and the Cullen's and for the first time in months, she truly felt as though she belonged. One night as she lay in bed, she thought about Chicago, or more specifically, she thought about how her mother was coping without her. She tried hard to get her mind off the subject, but that night, it wasn't so easily distracted. Even though she'd grown to hate her mother and the lifestyle she'd chosen, she couldn't help but feel worried about her.

"Should I go back for a couple days and see if she's all right?" she asked herself. "No, I can't do that. She'll try and persuade me to stay with her, and in the condition she'll probably be in, I'll have no choice but to stay. And I can't leave Forks. I love it here. I love the atmosphere, the forest, the people."

She knew she shouldn't grow too attached to the Cullen's and the Hale's. Pretty soon, they were going to find out why she left Chicago and be so disappointed in her that she wouldn't be able to stand it, thereby forcing her to leave then. She was still contemplating leaving for San Francisco in the middle of the night, but that would break her friend's hearts. And for some reason, she hated the idea of Jasper with a broken heart. She knew they were all beginning to think of her as family and she wouldn't just leave like that unless something came up that forced her to.

And she was glad of that. The last thing she wanted was to leave, for she felt that was finally getting her life back. She was happy again, she was smiling again, she'd started bouncing up and down, off the wall like the hyperactive, little pixie she'd been in her childhood. All the others, Jasper especially, couldn't help but smile when they were in her presence. She brought out the happiness in everyone, and they were all glad to see the stiff, nervous side of her they'd seen that first night melt away and be replaced with this cheerful side.

The first full weekend of her stay in Forks was when she and Rosalie forced Bella to the mall in Port Angeles. Bella whined and complained the entire way there, but there was nothing she could do. Trapped in the backseat of Rosalie's BMW, which was travelling at close to 70mph, she knew it would be impossible for her to escape the torture that was shopping.

"Bella, Bella, Bella, what are we going to do with you?" asked Alice, as they pulled up in front of the mall and Bella refused to get out of the backseat.

"You're going to have to club me over the head, throw me in a sack and drag me in," said Bella, ready to defend herself if need be.

"I think that can be arranged," said Rosalie. "Considering I'm three inches taller than you."

"She also has a boyfriend that's as big as a mountain," said Alice. "She has to be tough."

"She's right," said Rosalie. "With a guy like Emmett, you have to be tough 24/7."

"I don't care how tough you are, you're not getting me in that mall!" said Bella stubbornly.

"How about this," said Alice. "If you don't go in there, you're forbidden to see Edward for an entire month!"

"No!" shrieked Bella, so loudly that both Alice and Rosalie had to cover their ears. "You can't do that to me! I love Edward, you can't forbid me from seeing him!" Alice glanced around the parking lot and saw that a few people were looking at them. They had to quiet Bella down and quickly.

"Bella, it's okay, calm down," said Alice. "I was kidding! I know it's impossible to keep you away from Edward, just as it's impossible to keep Rosalie away from Emmett and me away from…" She broke off as she realized what she was about to say: as impossible as it was to keep her away from Jasper. She knew she was beginning to fall in love with him, but she didn't want anyone else to know that.

"What were you about to say Alice?" asked Rosalie teasingly.

"Nothing, that just slipped out," stammered Alice. "Really, it was nothing."

"Uh huh," said Bella, who had finally gotten out of the car and was walking towards the mall with them. She'd finally grown tired of all that whining and was just as interested in teasing Alice as Rosalie was. "So tell us Alice, have you found someone you like in Forks yet?" Alice just sighed. She knew who she liked, but she didn't want to tell Rosalie that person was Jasper.

"Let's just say that someone's caught my eye," said Alice slyly.

"And who would that be?" pressured Rosalie.

"You'll find out soon enough," said Alice, not meeting her friend's eye, which told the blonde girl who it was.

"Like we don't already know," she whispered in Bella's ear, making the brunette smile and making Alice glance at them suspiciously. Rosalie just shrugged it off and led the two girls into the mall, Bella still complaining about the agonizingly long amount of time that she was going to be forced to spend inside the place.

After six hours, yes six hours of walking from store to store, trying on clothes and waiting in line to pay for them, Alice and Rosalie finally decided enough was enough, much to Bella's relief.

"Hallelujah!" she shouted when she was able to collapse in the backseat of the car.

"It wasn't that bad," said Rosalie. "I thought it was a ton of fun in there."

"A ton of fun?" asked Bella. "You guys weren't the ones that were being forced in there against your will, forced to try on every single darn piece of clothing in every store. You would've gone to every single store in the place if we weren't due back at the Cullen's by 6:00. You only stopped for lunch to make me shut up and quit complaining. You two were just a couple of shopping maniacs in there!"

"Oh Bella, that's not true and you know it," said Alice, but she was smiling all the same.

"Honestly Alice, I didn't think I'd ever meet someone who'd be able to out-shop me," said Rosalie, obviously impressed. "I've been known to spend longer periods of time than this shopping." Bella groaned in agreement from the backseat. Rosalie rolled her eyes and continued, "but I guess you and all that pixie-like energy of yours is enough to outdo even me, the great Queen of Shopping."

"Well, don't look know _Your Majesty_," said Alice pointedly. "But you've just been dethroned."

"You'd better beware, because I'm going to get my title back," said Rosalie, but there was a teasing gleam in her eye.

"Oh man," said Bella, breaking into the conversation. "I'm going to have start separating you two and getting the guys to keep an eye on you. I don't want you both getting into any fights over who's the better shopper, nor do I want to go on shopping trips like this again."

"But you will, my dear Bella," said Alice. "Or my name isn't Her Majesty Alice Brandon, the Queen of Shopping."

"No way," broke in Rose. "I'm Her Majesty Rosalie Hale, the Queen of Shopping."

"Katherine, Anne, break it up!" said Bella, getting tired of the argument. Both girls looked over at her in the backseat, confusion written all over their faces. She sighed and said, "Rosalie, you're Katherine of Aragon and Alice, you're Anne Boleyn. Anne dethroned Katherine as Queen of England and married her husband, King Henry VIII. Only in this case, the prize is to see who among a small circle of friends is the best shopper."

"And none of us are fighting over the same guy either," said Rosalie.

"Wait a minute," said Alice, turning full around to face Bella. "Anne Boleyn was executed on charges of witchcraft. Are you saying I've cast a spell or something that would make me usurp Rosalie as the greatest bargain hunter?"

"There were actually more charges than just witchcraft, but no, I'm not saying anything like that against you Alice," said Bella. "Personally, I think it's just your pixie energy and personality that finally managed to outdo Rosalie and all her stamina."

"What was she charged for besides witchcraft?" asked Alice.

"Treason was the big one and you don't want to know the other two," replied Bella. "You probably said witchcraft because all the townspeople hated her and called her a witch because they thought she used a spell to seduce the king."

"Can we change the subject please?" said Rosalie. "I find history, particularly 500-year-old ancient history very boring and besides, it's a morbid topic. Anne Boleyn was nasty, let's just leave it at that."

"Aww," said Bella disappointedly.

"So Bella, when are you going to wear that new dress?" asked Alice, eager to change the subject to something she was actually interested in. "It'd look great on a date with Edward."

"Edward doesn't take me anywhere fancy enough to wear something like that," replied Bella.

"No worries," said Rosalie. "I'll find someplace for you to wear that dress." Bella groaned and refused to take further part in the conversation as Rosalie and Alice started talking about their new purchases and what they were going to wear and when.

"She's smiling," Rosalie thought satisfactorily, when she finally had a quiet moment to think. Alice was looking out the passenger window, watching the landscape roll by. She just couldn't take her eyes off it. But then again, she probably didn't have sights like this in Chicago. She continued her thought with, "when Alice arrived in Washington, she was so stiff and nervy, but now she's starting to open up to us. It's only been a week and she's coming around. I think she'll fit in just fine here, and she and Jasper will make the cutest couple Forks has ever seen."

When they got back to the Cullen's, Carlisle and Esme already had dinner on the table and the boys were pacing back and forth across the front porch, waiting anxiously for the BMW to pull into the driveway. When they finally saw it, they practically chased it into the garage.

"Where's the fire guys?" asked Rosalie.

"Where the hell have you girls been?" asked Emmett. "We're starving!"

"Yeah, you've been gone all day and we can't start eating without you," said Edward.

"Sure you could," said Alice. "Don't let us inconvenience you."

"It's poor form for a guy to start eating before the lovely lady accompanying him has arrived," said Jasper, winking and smiling at Alice, which in turn caused a blush to creep up on her face. He offered her his arm, which she took with a smile, and proceeded to lead her inside the house to dinner.

"Quit with the gentlemanly stuff, Jazz," said Emmett. "Just flat out say it, you girls took too long and we're starving! The only reason we're not eating now is because Carlisle and Esme made us wait!"

"Don't have to now, you've said it for me," said Jasper with a sly smile, making Emmett stamp his feet in impatience. Rosalie just shook her head at their antics and pushed Emmet towards the dining room. Edward and Bella had left the rest of them in the garage long before the conversation had started.

"How was your trip?" asked Jasper, guiding Alice into the house.

"I don't remember the last time I've had that much fun," she replied. "I love that I decided to come here."

"We all love that you came here," said Jasper, remembering the flowers he'd left her a few days before.

Remembering them as well, Alice said, "oh, I never did say thank you for those flowers."

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd thrown them out, you never said a word about them."

"No, I loved them. They're still in a vase on my dresser. I loved the card too. How did you know I needed a pick-me-up?"

"I thought it would be a nice sentiment," said Jasper, a relieved smile on his face.

There was another question she wanted to ask him, but a shout from Emmett told them they had to hurry up and eat, otherwise there'd be no dinner left for them. Both of them rolled their eyes as they dashed over to join the others.

After dinner, they spent most of the night sitting in the living room talking. It had started pouring rain outside a few minutes after the girls had gotten back from Port Angeles, and every few minutes there was a bright bolt of lightning followed by a loud roar of thunder. Needless to say, it completely eliminated the option of going anywhere else that night.

"Do you four want to stay the night?" asked Esme, gesturing to Jasper, Rosalie, Alice and Bella.

"Is it all right if we stay?" asked Alice, though judging by the nonchalant ways in which Bella, Jasper and Rosalie had nodded their heads at Esme, she guessed that it was.

"Of course dear," replied Esme. "I don't want any of you driving off in this weather."

"She's right, it's too dangerous," said Carlisle. "Bella, why don't you show Alice where her room is, you guys all get settled in and we'll all come back down here and watch a movie."

"Okay," said Bella. She and Alice headed upstairs, while the others stayed behind to debate on what movie they were going to watch. "You haven't been upstairs yet, have you?" asked Bella.

"Not yet," said Alice. "Are the rooms up there as big as the ones downstairs?" She thought of the large, modern kitchen and the living room which had one large sofa, two loveseats and half a dozen chairs, plus a flat-screen TV.

"Even better," said Bella. "Wait until you see some of the bedrooms." She led her friend up the stairs to the second floor and down the long hallway, pointing out some of the different rooms. She pointed to the first door on the left and said, "that's Carlisle's study, the one next to it is Esme's office."

"What does Esme do anyway?" asked Alice.

"She's an interior designer," replied Bella. "She has a bunch of clients in Washington State that come to her for help redoing their homes." They continued down the hallway. "The last door on the left is Carlisle and Esme's room. Then on the right is Edward's room, then Emmett's. The last one on the right, Rosalie and I share when we're here. Now you have a choice. You can either share that room with Rose and I, or you can have your own room, but the only other empty one is on the next floor."

"Let me see both rooms," said Alice. Bella opened the door to the room she shared with Rosalie and let Alice see the inside. To say she was stunned would be an understatement. The room was a beautiful periwinkle blue color with two twin size beds, two dressers and two mirrors against the walls. Floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite wall illuminated the entire space, when there was sun outside that is, and there was a doorway that led to the bathroom against the left wall.

"What do you think?" asked Bella.

"Where would I sleep?" asked Alice.

"You could have my bed, I'll sleep on the floor," said Bella. "I guarantee you Rosalie won't sleep on the floor for anything."

"I don't really want you to sleep on the floor either," said Alice. "Where's the other room?"

Bella gestured at Alice to follow her and led her up the next flight of stairs to the third floor, where they found a couple more bedrooms and what looked like an entertainment room just to the right of the staircase.

"That's Emmett's play room," said Bella. "He has all his video games and consoles in there. We sometimes gather in there to watch movies too. Then that room at the end of the hallway is Jasper's, and this one is yours."

She stopped in front of a doorway in between Jasper's room and the stairs. She opened the door and Alice was stunned into silence. The room was enormous, painted a light gold color, making it look like the sun had cast a few of its rays on the walls. There was a large king size bed, a dresser, a full length mirror, doors that led to a closet and a bathroom and floor-to-ceiling windows against the opposite wall that gave the best view of the forest she could ever dream of. She could even see over the tops of some of the trees to the mountains in the distance.

"I take it you want this one," said Bella, more of a statement than a question. All Alice could do was nod. "I have some clothes downstairs in my room. If we roll the sleeves up, they should fit you. You can borrow some in the morning if you like."

"Really?" asked Alice.

"Mmhmm," replied Bella. "Rose, Jasper and I spend the night here on short notice all the time, so we've all just started keeping sets of clothes in our rooms. Sometimes we stay over when it's pouring like this, the rest of the time Carlisle and Esme just have us over because they love having us all together."

As they walked back into the hallway, Alice took a look at the last door at the end of the hallway. "Why does Jasper sleep up here away from everyone else? It must be lonely."

"He's been lonely for quite a while," said Bella. She hesitated at that. "It's a long story. I'm not sure he'd want me to tell you."

"Go on, I can keep a secret."

Bella's memories, most of which consisted of events after she'd moved to Forks, now went back to the day she'd met the Hale's for the first time.

_She drove her truck to school that day, mostly so she could have some time on her own to think. Most days she rode with Edward, who would show up promptly at her house at 7:40 on schooldays, but she usually rode alone one day a week so she could think without Edward asking what she was thinking about and Emmett butting into the conversation every few seconds. Today her thoughts were focused on the two new students showing up at Forks High. The school didn't get very many new arrivals, one a year was big news for it. The fact that they were getting two in the middle of the school year was colossal._

_Bella parked her truck in her favorite parking spot, right next to Edward's Volvo. They had a system worked out so when they drove separately, they'd find two empty spots side-by-side and hold the second spot until the other got there. She smiled and ran into his waiting arms, giving him a good morning kiss. Emmett rolled his eyes at them, slightly jealous that he didn't have a girlfriend yet. Esme had been trying to set him up with every girl she knew, but so far, no luck._

"_Good morning, sweetheart," said Edward fondly, gazing down at Bella with love and adoration._

"_Good morning to you too, my green-eyed angel," said Bella._

"_You two are making me want to gag, let's just get inside," said Emmett, which for him was an unusual comment. He usually found some way to make fun of them and their relationship, being the jokester that he was. But today, he, like everyone else, wanted to find out about the two new students._

"_So what have you heard about these two, Bella?" asked Emmett._

"_I've heard their twins, brother and sister, Rosalie and Jasper Hale," replied Bella. "They're moving up here from Houston to be closer to their dad. Apparently, he does a lot of work in Seattle and some in Port Angeles."_

"_I can't imagine why someone would want to leave Houston for this place," said Edward._

"_Don't forget, I left Phoenix to move here and it was the best decision I ever made," said Bella and Edward found himself hastily retracting his own comment._

"_Hey, is that them?" asked Emmett, pointing at two people entering the building. Bella and Edward turned to look where he was pointing and realized that it must be them. None of them could rip their eyes off the newcomers. Rosalie was a blonde beauty with hair that cascaded down her back in curls, with a nice complexion and a perfect figure. Jasper's unkempt blonde curls fell into his eyes, making every girl that saw him instantly swoon over him. By their looks alone it was easy to tell they were twins, but their facial expressions said otherwise. Rosalie was a picture of attitude and self-confidence, whereas the only word to describe Jasper's face was panic-stricken. With all the attention they were getting, which his sister was lapping up, he looked like he was fighting the urge to run for the hills and cower under a rock somewhere._

"_What do you think, Edward?" asked Bella, looking at the two of them. One thing she loved about Edward was how good he was at guessing what people were thinking by the expressions on their faces._

"_The girl obviously likes all the attention she's getting," he replied. "It wouldn't surprise me if she had every guy in Houston asking her on a date. The guy, however, looks like he likes to keep to himself. I'm guessing he was against moving here. I'd bet anything he wants more than anything else to be back in Houston."_

"_Even if he isn't enthusiastic about being here, that's no reason to look like somebody's about to attack him, though Jessica and Lauren look like they want to mob him," said Bella, glancing over at Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory, Forks High's resident snobs._

"_Those two seriously need to get a life," said Edward, shaking his head at them._

"_But why do you think he looks as panicked as he does?"_

"_Probably because he isn't used to so much attention," said Edward. "What do you think Emmett?" There was no answer. Edward looked over at his brother, then said exasperatedly, "oh for God's sake, Emmett!"_

_Emmett had spent the last several minutes gazing wide-eyed at Rosalie, struck speechless for the first time in his life. It took Edward snapping his fingers in front of his face to get him to snap out of it._

"_What?" he asked._

"_Are you going to talk to us or are you going to spend all your time making eyes at her?" asked Edward._

"_Uh, I'm not sure I can answer that," said Emmett, his gaze drifting back over to Rosalie. _

"_Oh brother," muttered Edward as he and Bella walked off to their classes, having to drag Emmett behind them._

_First period Calculus was difficult for Bella as it always was, then came second period, History. She walked over to her usual desk and began doodling in her notebook. She looked up as she heard mumbling coming from the desk next to her. It was Rosalie. She looked more irritable than she had earlier that morning and Bella had a sneaking suspicion she knew why._

"_Hi," she said simply before returning to her notebook._

"_That's it?" asked Rosalie in disbelief, making Bella look up at her again. "You're not going to ask me all sorts of questions about where I'm from and why my brother and I moved here?"_

"_Do you want me to?" asked Bella innocently._

"_No!" said Rosalie quickly. "No, I really don't! It's just that that's all I've been hearing today and I'm starting to get a little tired of it. The fact that you're not asking me anything is kind of nice."_

"_Trust me, I know how you feel. I was the new girl about three years ago and the same thing happened to me. I was glad when I finally settled in and all the questions stopped. Relax, after a couple days, everyone will get used to having you here and the nagging, irritating questions will stop. You'll see."_

_The lesson started at that moment and both girls had to turn to pay attention to the professor. Then, when they were assigned a group project, Bella and Rosalie were able to get the chance to talk more. Bella explained all about her first day and how she had gotten all the same questions as Rose and Jasper were getting. By the end of the lesson, the two girls had become fast friends._

_A few minutes before the bell was due to ring, Rose said, "hey, I saw you with those two guys earlier, the big one and the bronze-headed one. Do you hang out with them often?"_

"_Yeah, the bronze-headed one is my boyfriend," replied Bella. "His name is Edward and the other one is his brother, Emmett."_

"_Does Emmett have a girlfriend?"_

"_No, why?" But she was sure she knew why._

"_I have the same first period class as him," said Rose, trying to hide a blush. "I spent the entire time sneaking sideways looks at him."_

"_Did you not see the way he was eyeing you when you first came in?" Rose shook her head. Bella continued, "God, it was like he'd just seen his first sports car. I've never seen him like that."_

"_Do you think you could introduce me?"_

"_Definitely." When Bella told Rose what kind of temperament Emmett had, a relieved smile appeared on Rose's face._

"_Thank God!" she said. "Part of the reason I was so eager to leave Houston was to get away from my ex, Royce King. He was such a conceited pig, I wasn't sure how much longer I could stand being in the same state as him, let alone the same school."_

_The two girls kept chatting until they had to part ways for their next class, which was also when Bella thought to invite Rosalie and Jasper to sit with her, Emmett and Edward at lunch. Rose quickly accepted for both her and her brother and set off down the hall. When Bella sat down in third period English, she was surprised to find Jasper in the empty seat next to her desk. She sat down, said, "hi," like she did with Rosalie and waited for a response._

_But unlike Rosalie, Jasper didn't turn to talk to her. He just muttered, "hi," without looking up at her. Bella raised her eyebrows at him, before turning to the front of the classroom. All throughout the lesson, Jasper didn't look up at her once. She knew he wasn't going to talk to her, so she decided to do something she normally wouldn't do. She tore a small piece of paper out of her notebook and started writing on it before folding it up and passing it surreptitiously over to Jasper. He tried to pretend not to notice, but after a minute, curiosity got the better of him. He took it and quickly read what it said._

"_Try to relax. The first day is hard on everyone. It certainly wasn't easy for me."_

_He looked curiously up at her and she just gave him a reassuring smile before turning her attention back to the class as though the exchange had never taken place. But when she looked over at him again, she saw that he had visibly relaxed and his lips had just barely twitched upwards into a smile. When lunch arrived, she walked with both the Hale's to the usual table where she sat with Edward and Emmett, gave Edward a quick kiss and introductions were made. Rosalie hit it off with both of the guys, particularly Emmett. Jasper seemed to get on well with them, but still only spoke when he was spoken to._

"As the weeks passed, he began to open up to us little by little," said Bella, coming to the end of the story. "But it was still clear to all of us that it would take him awhile to get used to it here. Carlisle and Esme had us all over to dinner two weekends after they'd gotten here and he retreated even further into his shell than I've ever seen him go. He began talking more though after he'd been here a few times. The first time they stayed the night was just as stormy and wet as this one and when he and Rose were shown the upstairs, I moved out of what's now your room to share the two-person room with Rose, and Jasper picked the furthest one from the rest of us. I think he did it because even though he was beginning to accept us as friends, he was still very shy around all of us and wanted someplace where he could just be alone and think. Even now, when he's gotten to know all of us fairly well, he still likes to keep to himself."

"So, what's brought on the change?" asked Alice, speaking for the first time in awhile. "When we were on the plane, he was so nice to me. He comforted me, said such sweet things to me, I don't think we were silent once the entire ride."

"Is it really unobvious to you what's changed him?" asked Bella. Alice looked at her, clearly puzzled. Bella sighed exasperatedly and said, "it's you. I've never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. Neither has Rose from what she told me while you were in the dressing room today."

"Whoa, what did she say?"

"She said that even in Houston and he had tons of girls flirting with him, Jasper never once asked a girl out on a date. There was one girl, Maria, who apparently wouldn't leave him alone until he finally told her to go away. He's polite to everyone because he was raised to be, but you're the only one he's ever shown feelings for. He cares about you, Alice. He very deeply cares about you."

Alice couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She'd been hoping what she thought was a fool's hope that Jasper felt something for her that was more than just friendship, but she was hearing it from Bella and in a sense from Rosalie. She wondered if there was a chance for a relationship between her and Jasper, but she realized she had to stop feeling that way. Sooner or later, they were all going to find out why she left Chicago and when they did, they were going to send her away, she knew they would. She knew the sooner she left and went someplace else the better, but she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay here with these people who were starting to become her family. But she knew she had to start making plans to leave Forks as soon as they found out what was going on.

"What took you girls so long?" asked Emmett when they got back to the living room. "We thought maybe you'd gotten lost."

"Very funny, Emmett," said Bella, taking a seat next to Edward, who wrapped his arm around her. "So what movie are we watching?"

"National Treasure, if that's all right with you two," said Jasper.

Both girls said it was and they sat back as Carlisle turned out the lights and put the movie into the DVD player. They all were able to ignore the storm outside as they watched the film from beginning to end, a couple of them shaking their heads in amazement as Ben was able to work out the clues and laughing at all of Riley's comments.

"I'll say this for the writers," said Jasper when the movie was over. "What they lack in historical accuracy, they make up for with a terrific script."

"You said it," said Rosalie. "I love this movie and I normally hate history movies."

"Don't I know it," said Bella, thinking back to their discussion of Anne Boleyn that day.

"If you kids want to stay up, that's fine," said Carlisle, glancing at the clock saying it was 11:45. "We're off to bed. Good night all."

"Good night," said everyone in unison. After Carlisle and Esme went upstairs, Emmett said, "what are we going to do now? I'm not tired."

"I am," said Bella, rubbing her still sore feet. "You weren't walking from store to store so much today that by the time you were done, your entire leg was begging for mercy."

"Don't exaggerate Bella," said Alice, rolling her eyes and smiling. Bella gave her a look that said quite plainly, "I'm not."

"Does that mean you're ditching us Bella?" asked Edward.

"I think I am," said Bella. She leaned down to give Edward a quick kiss good night and said, "see you in the morning." It wasn't long after that when Rosalie decided to hit the sack, then Edward went upstairs a few minutes later.

"You two aren't going to ditch me either, are you?" asked Emmett, gesturing at Jasper and Alice.

"We might, sorry Emmett," said Jasper, trying to hold back a yawn.

Emmett just grumbled and stalked upstairs as well, knowing he wasn't going to be able to do much of anything on his own. Jasper and Alice walked up to the third floor together in silence and when they got to Alice's door, she turned to face him and say good night.

"Actually Alice, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," said Jasper, somewhat nervously.

"Okay, come on in," replied Alice, opening the door to her room. They both stepped inside and there was an awkward moment of silence before she took a seat on the edge of her bed and gestured at him to sit next to her. "What's up?" she asked.

"I was wondering," he started. "Did you by any chance hear the conversation Rosalie and I had the night you arrived?"

Alice had been hoping that no one would bring up that night. She'd had a good time, but she didn't want to talk about her home or her life before Forks. She couldn't imagine a life anywhere other than Forks now.

"Um…I don't know what you're talking about," she lied, avoiding his gaze.

He placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him. "You're lying, Alice," he said. "I know you are."

She sighed and said, "yes, I heard you. But what does it matter? That was days ago."

"It matters because you're not telling us everything," said Jasper. "I want you to be able to tell me things, to trust me. But it seems like you don't. I'm not going to pressure you to tell me why you left Chicago, but I just want some sign that you intend to tell me someday."

"I will tell you," she said. "But I need to get my life straightened out first."

"What does that mean exactly?"

"It means that I have to decide where my life is going to end up. I have to decide if I'm even going to stay here at all." But that was the wrong thing to say. Jasper looked at her in alarm and she knew he was about to dissuade her from leaving.

Sure enough, he said, "please don't leave. You can't leave." She was surprised by the urgency and panic in his tone, as though he couldn't stand the thought of not having her there. But he wasn't sure how to continue after that, which should have told her something very important about him. She thought he was just stammering because she'd sprung the thought on him very suddenly. In truth, it was because he was trying to find an argument for her to stay that wouldn't reveal the feelings he was developing for her.

"Relax," she said. "I haven't made up my mind what I'm going to do yet. But I'm not planning on leaving right now. I like it here."

Jasper breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at her. He said then, "okay." He thought of the flowers, which he'd seen were still in her room the day before, and said, "remember what I said on that card? We're all glad to have you here."

"Why?" She couldn't help the confused look that spread across her face.

Jasper seemed a little stunned at her expression and said, "because we can all see that you're a good person. You're funny, witty, not to mention pretty." He dearly wanted to say something more along the lines of "beautiful," or "gorgeous," but she was already giving a cough of disbelief at the word "pretty." He continued, "and you're also just a nice person. You enjoy being around people, but don't exactly fit in with the in-crowd around here. I remember the other day when we met the so-called popular kids. It seems like you hate them almost as much as the rest of us do.

Alice thought back to the day she'd met those guys and remembered with disgust the way the boys had looked at her and the things they had said.

_Two days after she'd arrived, she'd been at the diner with Bella waiting for Edward and Jasper, when they'd run into some people from Forks High School. She took an instant disliking to the majority of them. They all looked down on her with different expressions, the guys with interest and the girls with distrust and jealousy. She had been polite to all of them, but the Cullen's were her friends and her family, not this bunch. The only one of the group that had really been kind to her was Angela Weber and Alice knew that she was the only person not in the Cullen circle whom she would be friends with. The other two girls, Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory, were both civil towards her, but neither of them liked her. And that was for the simple reason that the boys were eyeing her predatorily. Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie and Tyler Crowley all looked at her with a look saying they'd like to see how she fared on a date with one of them. Luckily, Edward and Jasper had arrived at that moment and when they saw the group around the two girls, they both went into overprotective-boyfriend mode._

"_Hello Mike," Edward said. "And just what might you be doing here?" He sat down next to Bella and placed his arm protectively around her shoulders._

"_Edward," said Mike grudgingly. The two boys had never gotten along, mostly because Mike had always believed Bella should be his._

"_I don't believe we invited you guys," said Jasper, sitting down next to Alice with his arm around her._

"_You don't want us to join you?" asked Tyler, raising an eyebrow at them._

_Jasper sighed. He tried very hard to be gentlemanly to everyone around him, but these guys had a way of trying his patience. "Not today Tyler, now would you leave the four of us to enjoy our meal in peace?"_

_Jessica, Mike, Lauren, Tyler and Eric all went back to their table, the boys looking very disgruntled. Angela hung around a few more minutes._

"_I'm sorry about them," she said. "Those guys just don't know when to stop."_

"_Don't we know it," said Bella. "Why do you hang out with them, Angela?"_

"_I know it's sad to say, but Jessica is my best friend, but I have the crew down at La Push as well, they're a nice bunch."_

"_Yeah, they are," said Bella, thinking of her friend, Jacob Black, who lived in La Push._

_Hearing her name being called, Angela said a quick, "see you later," and rejoined the others._

_Alice felt Jasper's arm around her tighten. She looked up at him to see him gazing angrily after the group a few tables away. She didn't understand, what had those guys done to them except for trying pitifully to flirt with the girls? She smiled as she realized Jasper's arm was still around her, but he was holding it so tightly it was starting to get a bit sore._

"_Jasper, could you loosen your grip a little bit?" she said gently to him. He suddenly realized how tightly he was holding her and quickly let go, a blush spreading across his face._

"_I'm sorry," he said, not looking at her. She just gave a small giggle and turned to chat with Bella._

"Yeah," she said, returning to the present moment. "They got on my nerves."

"They get on everyone's nerves," replied Jasper, rolling his eyes at the thought of them.

"Why'd you get so protective of me there?" He started blushing and stammering again and she raised her hand for him to stop. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me now. You tell me when you want to and I'll tell you the reason for my leaving Chicago."

There was a moment of silence, then Alice said, "Jasper, did you really mean it when you said you're all glad to have me here? _All_ of you? You, Rosalie, Bella, the Cullen's?"

He nodded and said, "yeah, I meant it. Rosalie and Bella are glad to have another girl they can hang out with, Rosalie's glad to have a shopping partner and Bella isn't friends with very many girls around here, so she's glad to have you around. Carlisle and Esme consider all of us their children and they never get enough of having us all around, so to them, having you here is like having another daughter. They couldn't be happier. Emmett's just a big goofball, so another girl around here is someone new for him to prank and joke around with. And Edward and I just like seeing our family happy. So if you make them happy, then trust me, neither of us are going to let you go anywhere."

Alice couldn't believe what Jasper was saying. Carlisle and Esme thought of her as their daughter, the rest thought of her as a friend and sister. Secretly though, she hoped what Bella said was true and that Jasper thought of her as more than just a friend.

"Why look so surprised?" he asked her.

"It's just been a long time since anyone's said something like that about me."

It was Jasper's turn to look surprised. "Really?" he asked. She nodded. "I'd have thought you'd hear things like that all the time."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're beautiful and interesting and funny," said Jasper. "I could list off about fifty more adjectives that would describe you perfectly. But the point is, any family would be lucky to have you in it, any guy would be lucky to get you for a girlfriend."

"Do you really mean all that?" asked Alice, hanging on his every word.

"Every word," whispered Jasper. By this point, Alice was trying very hard not to cry. No one had ever said anything _that_ sweet to her, not even her parents. One glistening tear fell down her face and she stifled a gasp as Jasper wiped it away with his finger. It was in that moment that they both realized how close they were to each other. During the final words of their discussion, they'd unconsciously moved closer to one another until they were so close that Jasper felt the desire to kiss her. He leaned in a little closer. So did she. Both closed their eyes and their lips had just barely touched when they heard a noise coming from outside in the hallway. They jerked away from each other, both wide-eyed and blushing. Jasper got himself under control first and got up to see what was happening outside. He moved quietly toward the door, paused a second, then threw it open.

"Emmett!" Jasper yelled furiously. Emmett had been standing with his ear to the door and apparently the noise was him moving when Rosalie had come up behind him.

"What are you two doing?" asked Jasper, his temper flaring.

"We just wanted to come upstairs, there's a nicer view of the forest through these windows," said Rosalie.

"And listen in on someone else's very private conversation while you're at it?"

Neither Emmett nor Rosalie spoke for a moment, then both said, "sorry," and headed back downstairs. Jasper sighed and closed the door.

"I'm sorry about them," he said. "It's something you're going to have to get used to around here."

"It's fine," stammered Alice, still blushing from the almost kiss.

Another awkward moment of silence and then, "I guess I'm going to say good night," said Jasper, looking nervously down at the floor.

"Okay," said Alice. Just as he turned out into the hallway, she said, "Oh Jasper, there's one more thing I wanted to ask you."

He stopped and turned back around. "What is it?" he asked.

"You said 'Happy Birthday' on that card. How did you know the day I arrived was my birthday?"

"As I was coming up to bed, I heard you talking to yourself and I heard you say it was your birthday," he admitted a little sheepishly. "I wanted to do something to make you see that we all thought it was good to have you here and at the same time wish you a happy birthday. Why didn't you tell us though?"

"I didn't want a fuss made over it," said Alice.

"You've got a point," said Jasper. "Esme would've made a huge fuss, trying to make a cake and organize a last minute party."

"See what I mean?" asked Alice jokingly. Then more seriously, she said, "thank you for the flowers and for everything you said." She got up, went over to him and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "Good night," she whispered, before smiling and closing the door right in his stunned face. She couldn't help but smile as she thought of how much fun she'd had that day and how she just knew that things were going to get better from here on out.

**AN**: All right, so that's the repost of chapter four. Personally, I think it's better this way, but you're the critics, so tell me what you think for yourselves. I'm still working on the next chapter, but this one was just bugging me so I got it done first. Don't worry, I'll have it done soon. In the meantime, please review! It makes me really happy to hear what you guys have to say and I love the constructive criticism if you have it. So please, just leave a little message. Who knows, it might spur me to write faster and get the next chapter out. Stay tuned!

**P.S. (read this please!):** On my profile page, there's a poll that has to do with my Harry Potter story. Could you go over there and vote on it. I don't know how many of you have read that story, but even if you haven't read it, you can still vote on it. Could you please do that? I've had this poll open for six weeks and so far, it's only gotten four votes. Tell all your Harry Potter friends to vote on it as well please! Thank you!


	5. First Date

**AN**: Hello everyone! I think I got this chapter out more quickly than I did either of the others in this story. Also if you want to, look back at Chapter 4 because I did replace that one. It has all the same content in it, I just changed a few details, such as the fact that the first day Bella met Jasper and Rosalie is now an actual flashback. But I have this chapter ready also so if you want to read it first, then by all means, go ahead. Happy reading!

**Chapter 5: First Date**

The next three weeks passed in a blur for Alice. The more time she spent in Forks, the less time she spent thinking of Chicago. Her mother had called her cell phone about twenty times, but Alice was positive that if she answered it, she'd get nothing but an earful of shrieks and curses. The last thing she wanted was to hear her mother yell at her for leaving her to pay all the bills and actually work. The last thing she knew she'd ever hear was pleas for her to come home. That was the other reason she didn't answer her phone when her mother called. If the message was a desperate cry for her to come home, she knew she wouldn't be able to refuse. She may have grown to detest her mother, but she knew someone had to be there to take care of her. And she did not want to leave Forks.

Alice busied herself by making the spare room at the Hale's place her own, though she knew it was better that she not. She wasn't sure how long she'd be staying there, she might soon get her own place in Forks once she had enough money. But all the same, she put her possessions and the few photos she'd brought on the dresser and nightstand, and she reorganized her wardrobe at least three times.

But what she loved most about this house was the fact that if she needed anything, Rosalie was directly across the hallway and Jasper was in the room next door. She had that same reassurance at the Cullen's house with Jasper's room being on the top floor adjacent to hers. She had slept over every weekend, along with Bella, Jasper and Rosalie and had started keeping a couple spare sets of clothes there as well. Carlisle and Esme were always glad to have them over, Esme saying she wanted as many chances to see them as possible before they all headed out for college.

"Alice, do you know where you're going to college?" asked Esme one night at dinner.

"No I don't," said Alice. "I haven't really thought about it." She hoped the expression on her face didn't betray her fears that college was out of the question. She didn't have nearly enough money on her, her father certainly wasn't going to pay her way through and she wasn't going to ask Carlisle to pay for her education. That was just poor form.

"Neither have any of these guys," said Carlisle, gesturing at the rest of the group.

"Not true!" said Bella indignantly. "I know for a fact I'm going to Dartmouth."

"You haven't actually submitted your application and gotten your acceptance letter, sweetheart," said Edward.

"I know, but Dartmouth is what I want," said Bella. "It's what I've wanted for years."

"And you're going to leave all the rest of us here and go jet-setting off to the other side of the country," said Rosalie.

"You don't know that," said Bella. "A couple of you might decide to join me."

"I'm not going all the way as far as New Hampshire," said Rose. "I might go back to Houston."

"That's enough," said Esme, who was seriously regretting the fact that she'd brought up the college discussion. "I don't want to hear anymore of you all going away. I don't want to even think of letting any of my babies go."

"We're not your babies," said Emmett, who couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"You're as good as," said Esme, who was fighting back tears at the thought of letting even one of them go.

"Change the subject," said Carlisle, placing his arm around Esme comfortingly.

Jasper quickly asked Rosalie about plans she had with Alice and Bella in a few days and she readily took over the conversation, but Alice wasn't paying any attention to it. Her mind had drifted to the fact that she now had a very valid reason to leave for San Francisco. She wouldn't be able to use the excuse that she didn't know where she was going for too long. Though it was the truth, it would get old and people would start wondering why she hadn't even started looking at schools yet. That would lead to them asking how she was even going to finish high school, since it was obvious she didn't have any money, which would then lead into the discussion of why her parents weren't paying for her education. And all the Cullen's by this point knew how touchy she would get when the subject of her parents and her home came up. She still didn't want anyone to know why she left home.

But the subject of her parents was apparently inevitable that night. It was a night when Rosalie and Jasper had decided not to spend the night at the Cullen's. As they were fixing to leave, Rose held out the keys to her BMW and said, "Alice, do you want to drive?"

The room went dead silent. Finally, Emmett managed to unclench his jaws enough to say, "did I just hear that right? You're letting someone else drive your car? You don't like most people eyeing it, there are times you won't let me touch it. Yet, you're asking Alice if she wants to drive it. Anyone else see what's wrong with this picture?"

Alice couldn't help but glance back and forth between Rosalie and Jasper. While most of the family was staring at the blonde girl, she was the only one to see Jasper mouth to his sister, "what are you doing, Rose?"

Rose, on the other hand, didn't give any indication that she'd even seen Jasper speaking to her. She just looked pointedly at Alice and repeated the question, "Alice, do you want to drive?"

All eyes turned to Alice now and she frantically wracked her brain for an excuse, before deciding that maybe it would be better in this instance to just go ahead and tell them the truth.

"I'd love to, but I can't," was what she settled with.

"What do you mean? Why not?" persisted Rosalie. "It's not because I'm normally so protective of that car, is it?"

"No, that's not it," replied Alice. "Really, I can't. I can't drive."

She squirmed as she felt seven pairs of eyes staring at her with shock and amazement. "You don't have your license?" asked Carlisle after a second.

"I've never even had a single driving lesson," said Alice.

"Why not?" asked Edward, leaning forward curiously.

Alice knew where this was going, but she saw no way around it and Jasper, with all his abilities at maneuvering a conversation, wouldn't be able to help her here. After another minute, she said, "neither of my parents ever had much time to teach me and my father flat out refused to pay for lessons." Seeing the even more shocked looks on everyone's faces, she elaborated, "anything that had to do with me spending his money, he wouldn't stand for it."

"He wouldn't pay for anything?" asked Bella, unable to grasp the concept of a father not being supportive of his daughter.

"Only school and I think he was starting to grumble about that too," said Alice with a sigh.

"What happened then?" asked Jasper. "He's obviously stopped paying for everything, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

"Do we have to talk about it?" she asked, starting to get a little teary-eyed as the memory of the day her father left was brought to the surface. "It's kind of painful."

"I'm sorry Alice, I shouldn't have brought this up," said Rosalie, looking down at the floor.

"Come on, let's get home," said Jasper, taking both Rose and Alice by the arms and leading them out to the garage. Needless to say, goodbyes were oddly stiff and formal and the drive back to the Hale residence was spent in silence. As soon as they got there, Alice excused herself to her room, but then immediately leaned back over the banister to hear what the two siblings were discussing.

"What the hell were you thinking, Rose?" asked Jasper angrily. Even though he was speaking in barely above a whisper, it was a very angry whisper, one that managed to carry enough so that it reached Alice's ears. "Why did you have to bring that up?"

Rosalie, who never spoke in whispers, answered with, "I thought it'd help."

"My God, you have a twisted mind," said Jasper. "What could that possibly have helped with?"

"I thought it'd make her open up to us a bit more. She needs to tell us what she's hiding Jazz, it's starting to get a little unnerving."

"So what? Everyone's entitled a secret, right?"

"Oh yeah, what's yours?"

"That's beside the point. The point is she has to tell us on her own terms. Neither of us can force her into telling us anything like you just did."

"I didn't force her into anything."

Jasper gave a grunt of exasperation and said, "yes, you did. You knew she'd react that way and with all of us standing around her, she'd have no choice but to answer. Now why exactly did you bring it up in that way? Why did you ask her if she wanted to drive?"

Rosalie hesitated a minute before saying, "I knew she didn't have her license." Jasper made a noise of disbelief and Rose elaborated, "I was in Alice's room the other day to get back a bracelet she'd borrowed." And Alice quickly thought back to the day before when Rose had asked for her bracelet back and Alice had told her where in her room to find it. She continued, "As I was leaving, I accidently knocked over her purse. I was putting all her stuff back inside when I saw that her wallet was open as well. I looked through it real quick and all there was inside was a wad of cash, no cards, no ID. I thought if it was brought up that she didn't have her license, it would lead to a little talk about her parents and her home life."

"Rose, the reason she came here was to forget about her home life," said Jasper, still angry.

"I still say we have a right to know what's going on," said Rosalie, just as heatedly.

"And she has a right to tell us when she's ready to. Now, no more forcing this on her, okay?"

"Okay," said Rosalie, but even from upstairs, Alice knew she wasn't happy with that idea.

Alice quietly crept back to her room and got her duffel bag out from under her bed. She couldn't stay here now, not when they were so close to finding out what happened. Her only chance was to leave that night, after Rosalie and Jasper had both gone to bed. The problem was she didn't know how long either of them usually stayed up, so it might be awhile before she was able to leave. All the same, she began rounding up her clothes and possessions and fitting as many of them as she could into her bag. She'd just have to be more careful of where she went. She knew she wouldn't be lucky enough to find friends like Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward and Bella in San Francisco, she'd been lucky that Jasper and Rosalie had even followed her to Port Angeles. She'd have to watch out for thugs that might try to mug her and rape her and she'd have to find someplace to stay fairly quickly. She wasn't sure how she was going to get there either. She'd have to see if she could find a bus or a train that would take her down there, seeing as how she couldn't afford another plane ride. She had her bag packed within the next twenty minutes and waited for when she'd be able to sneak away.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours and before Alice knew it, it was nearly midnight. Rosalie had come upstairs and gone to bed about forty-five minutes before, but Jasper was still awake. She was starting to get sleepy herself, but she refused to let herself lie down and go to sleep. If she did, morning would arrive and the Hale's would be up before she would be, which would postpone her leaving another night. She cautiously crept out onto the landing to see if she could hear what Jasper may be doing and the sound of footsteps reached her ears. He was pacing back and forth across the living room. She knew she wouldn't be able to reach the back door without him seeing her, nor would she get to the front door or the garage door without him hearing her.

She then heard him sigh, then heard his footsteps heading out the door into the backyard. She went back to her room and looked out her window, which gave a perfect view of the backyard. She saw Jasper lie down in the grass and stare up at the sky. This was her chance. With Rosalie sound asleep and Jasper in the backyard, she could slip out the front door and into the night. But seeing him there, she realized she couldn't. She wanted to go down there and find out what was bothering him. So against her better judgment, she descended the stairs and went through the back door to join him.

"Hey Alice," said Jasper, without looking up at her.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked curiously.

"If you were Rosalie, you wouldn't have walked quietly out here, you'd have stomped your feet and asked bitterly, 'what the hell are you doing Jasper? Do you want to have bugs crawling all over you and freeze to death during the night?' Those would be her exact words."

"What _are_ you doing out here?" asked Alice, using a much gentler tone than Rosalie would've.

"Join me and I'll tell you," said Jasper coyly. So shyly, Alice lied down in the grass beside him, turning her head to look at him.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I wanted to see how you'd react if I came out here," he replied. She looked confused, so he elaborated, "I heard you rummaging around in your room earlier. It wasn't hard to guess what you were doing. Are you really going to leave just because we all know you don't have your driver's license?"

"It's more than that," said Alice, but she stopped short there.

"You can tell me, Alice," said Jasper. She turned her head away and stared up at the star-strewn sky, trying to find some way to change subject. "Look at me," he whispered. She didn't. He rolled over so he was laying on his side and reached over with one hand to touch her cheek. She gave a small gasp as she felt him softly touch her face and gently turn her head to face him. "Alice, why do you think you can't trust me?"

That hurt. He'd played the trump card he knew would win. "It's not that I don't trust you, Jasper. It's as you said, everyone's entitled to a secret, right?"

"How did you know I said that?" asked Jasper, sitting up so that he was hovering over her.

"That's the reason I was packing," she explained. "I heard what you and Rose were saying."

"You've been hanging around Emmett too long if you're starting to repeatedly listen in on people's conversations," said Jasper in a teasing tone. "Seriously though, you're leaving so you don't have to tell Rose and I what's going on with you?"

"Because if I tell you what's going on, you'll make me leave, I know you will."

"How could you think that?" asked Jasper, clearly hurt. "The only person that can make you leave is yourself. None of us can make you leave, not one of us. Besides, you honestly think that we all want you to leave?"

"You don't?"

"Of course I don't…uh…_we_ don't," stammered Jasper, but Alice definitely caught that he particularly didn't want her to go. "Alice, did you not believe me when I told you three weeks ago that we're all glad to have you here?"

"I just thought you were saying it to make me feel welcome," said Alice.

"Well that was part of it," said Jasper. "But it wasn't just a gimmick. I meant every word, but it doesn't sound like you believe that. Carlisle and Esme think of you as their daughter. Edward and Emmett think of you as their sister. Seeing you leave would be depressing to all of us and I hate seeing my family depressed. If I have to, I'll recruit the guys to help me convince you not to leave. I'll bet together, Edward and I can come up with fifty arguments to make you stay. Face it Alice, whether you like it or not, you're a Cullen now."

"I'm unofficially a Cullen?" she asked and he nodded. She thought for a minute, then said, "Alice Cullen, I like it. I think it suits me more than Alice Brandon does, what do you think?"

"It more than suits you," said Jasper and she smiled.

"We probably shouldn't say that unless it's just the two of us though. I don't know how Carlisle and Esme will react if they hear me using their last name."

"I don't think they'll mind too much. Play your cards right, they might give you one of these." And he held up his right hand to show her a wristband he was wearing. It had a coat of arms on it, with three shamrocks, a lion, and a hand at the top.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's the Cullen crest, we all have one," said Jasper. Alice raised her eyes eyebrows at him and he continued, "Carlisle and Esme's wedding rings are their crest rings, Bella just wears it as a regular ring on her right hand; Edward, Emmett and I have these wristbands, and Rosalie wears it on a necklace. Rosalie and I got ours last Christmas. Carlisle decided that was the best gift he could give us, mostly because Esme is convinced Bella and Rosalie are going to marry Edward and Emmett."

"You think they'll give me one?" she asked.

"I'll bet you they will. That'll probably be your Christmas gift come December."

Both of them were beginning to relax by this point. They laid back in the grass, Jasper's arm around Alice's shoulders, both of them just staring up at the sky, occasionally pointing out the constellations. She heard him let out a contented sigh and she turned to face him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Dad and I used to do this all the time, before he started travelling nonstop," said Jasper.

"I'm sorry you don't get to see him very often," said Alice.

"It's all right, Rose and I have gotten used to it. Besides, I was able to see him when I was in Chicago, even if it was only for a day." There was a moment of silence, then he said, "did you and your dad ever just lay in the grass and look at stars or something like that?"

"He's never had much time to do anything with me," replied Alice. "My mom and I did everything together. We went shopping together, she helped me with my homework, we did all sorts of girl stuff all the time. She had her job too, but she still made time for me. He never did."

"So what happened then?" asked Jasper, feeling like he was finally getting somewhere. "Did they abandon you or something?"

"In a fashion," she said.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I don't want to talk about it anymore," said Alice, tears beginning to stream down her face at the thought of how her parents had treated her over the last eighteen months.

"Alice, I'm sorry," said Jasper, silently berating himself for pushing her to talk about her home life when it was clear she didn't want to. He reached over and cupped her face in both his hands, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry."

After a minute, Alice's tears stopped and her breathing evened. "Alice, are you all right?" asked Jasper. She didn't answer. After another minute, he realized she'd fallen asleep.

"Poor thing, you must be tired," he whispered, gently scooping her up in his arms. Very carefully, he took her back inside the house and carried her back up to her room. He laid her down in bed, pulled the covers around her and after a moment's hesitation, he leaned down and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.

"Goodnight, darlin'," he said quietly, blushing despite the fact that she was asleep and couldn't hear a word he said. He went back downstairs to see that all the doors were locked, then headed for bed, thinking of Alice all the while.

Alice slept in the next morning. When she went downstairs, she found Jasper sitting in the living room reading the paper.

"Morning sleepyhead," he said with a smile.

"Morning," she replied. "Where's Rosalie?"

"She made plans to go out with Emmett for the day," said Jasper. "I cooked up some breakfast a little while ago. I saved you some if you're hungry." She nodded and followed him into the kitchen. They sat and ate for a little while, but throughout the conversation, Alice could tell Jasper was slightly nervous about something.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, after she'd finished eating.

Jasper seemed reluctant to answer. Finally, he said very nervously, "I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere with me tonight?"

"Like where?" she asked curiously.

"I thought we could maybe go to a movie in Port Angeles and have dinner afterward, just the two of us," said Jasper.

"What about the others?" asked Alice.

"Edward and Bella are going on an all-day picnic and Emmett was going to take Rosalie into Seattle after breakfast." He handed her a piece of paper and said, "I went online and printed out a list of movie times for this afternoon. What looks good to you?"

Alice looked over the list and said, "either 'My Sister's Keeper' or 'The Proposal.'"

Jasper rolled his eyes and said, "a couple of chick flicks. We'll see anything you want to see. I've already seen most everything else on here anyway."

Finally, Alice decided on "The Proposal," which was scheduled to come on at 1:00.

"We're going to have to get there early," said Jasper. "The roads to Port Angeles can get pretty crowded during lunch hour." He looked over at the clock and saw that they'd have to leave in half an hour if they wanted to make it to the movie. Alice dashed upstairs to fix her hair and makeup and to change clothes, all of which took up the whole half hour. By the time she dashed back downstairs, Jasper was waiting in the foyer with a key dangling off his finger.

"Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded. They headed into the garage, but Rosalie's BMW was gone. She'd been hoping that Emmett had come to pick her up in his Jeep Wrangler so that way she and Jasper could take the BMW, but if the car was gone, then that left Jasper's motorcycle. Sure enough, he was walking towards his bike, getting a couple of helmets as he went.

"Um, couldn't we borrow one of the Cullen cars or something?" she asked.

"It's not that hard to ride one of these," said Jasper, handing her a helmet. "Put that on."

"Jasper, I don't know about this," she said, backing away from the motorcycle.

He rolled his eyes and walked towards her. She backed away from him and tried to dart back inside the house, but she didn't have much luck. He caught her around the waist, lifted her off her feet and began to carry her back over to his bike. He set her down next to it, grabbed the helmet out of her hands and gently fastened it around her head. He then put his own helmet on and got on the bike.

"Come on," he said. She was still really hesitant about it. "Alice, when you're with me you're perfectly safe. Now come on, once we're out on the road, you'll see how fun riding one of these is."

Slowly, she got in the backseat and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She tensed up when she heard the engine rumble and felt the seat vibrate beneath her. She heard Jasper chuckle before steering out into the street. He wasn't allowed to go very fast in Forks as a whole, but once they got out on the highway, he started accelerating so that he could keep up with most of the cars on the road. Alice's grip on him tightened as she felt him speed up.

"Relax!" he shouted back to her over the noise of the engine. "Close your eyes and pretend you're flying! Trust me, it helps!"

Considering the only thing she could do at the moment was trust him, she did as he said. The moment her eyes shut, she forgot that she was on a motorcycle roaring down the highway. It was like she was flying through the sky and Jasper was her wings. She felt herself begin to relax and after a moment, she heard herself laughing as the wind rushed past and the bike raced faster down the road. Before she knew it, the trip was over and Jasper had pulled up in front of the movie theatre in Port Angeles.

"So, what'd you think?" he asked.

"That was amazing!" she said, as he helped her off the bike. "I've never done anything like that before. If my mom knew I'd just ridden a motorcycle…" But she broke off as she thought of her mother, who had left her five messages in the last two days.

Jasper, not wanting a repeat of the previous night, said, "let's get our tickets and get inside. I'll pay for them and you pay for the snacks, how's that sound?"

"Sounds good," she said. She wasn't ready for an argument over who was going to pay for what, so splitting the cost like that sound reasonable to her. They got their tickets and snacks and headed into the theatre. Alice laughed throughout the entire movie, while Jasper just sat through it for her sake and didn't say a word. At one point, she looked over at him and saw that he'd fallen asleep. She guessed chic flicks weren't his cup of tea. She elbowed him in the ribs to wake him up and when he did, he blushed apologetically at her. She just shook her head at him and gave him a small smile.

When the movie was over, it was still early in the afternoon, so Jasper took Alice out to an old abandoned building on the outskirts of town for a little surprise he'd cooked up.

"What are we doing here?" she asked.

"I'm going to teach you how to drive this thing," he replied. "Empty parking lots or roads with no traffic are usually the best places to learn how to drive anything."

"What?" she asked nervously.

"It's not that hard."

"So because I can't drive a car, you're going to teach me how to drive this instead?"

"You'll learn how to drive a car too. Esme's going to take you to get your learner's permit in a couple of weeks."

"How do you know that?"

"Emmett was telling Rosalie that he's been trying to track down his old driver's manual, but he can't find it anywhere. Edward's looking for his too. As soon as one of them finds one, he'll give it to you and as soon as you think you're ready, Esme will take you in to get your permit."

"Really?" He nodded at her, smiling at her stunned face. "Wow," she thought to herself. "The Cullen's must really think of me as family if they're willing to do that for me."

She scooted up to the front seat as Jasper got off the bike. She then felt him come up behind her, his hands closing over hers on the handle bars. She tried to pay attention as he told her how to accelerate and how to stop, but all she could concentrate on was how his arms were around her and her back was pressed against his chest. So she was a little startled when she felt him turn the bike on and move forward a few feet. She gave a little shriek and she heard him laugh behind her as he stopped the bike.

"You okay?" he asked, still trying to hold back a laugh.

"Yeah," she said a little shakily. "I think prefer riding behind you than driving."

"Come on, just give it a chance," said Jasper and he started the engine again. This time, she did pay attention to what he was doing. His hands gently maneuvered hers so that she was driving the bike around the parking lot. After about half an hour, Jasper finally turned the engine off and asked her, "so how was that?"

"Wonderful," she whispered, looking up at him. Their faces were just inches from each other and she was still pressed against his chest. She thought for a moment she'd like nothing more than to stay in that position forever, and from the look he was giving her, she had the feeling he wouldn't mind staying that way either. Eventually, they had to move so that he could get back in front and head off, but both of them were blushing when they had to separate from each other.

Jasper then took Alice on a tour of Port Angeles, driving her around the town, showing her some sights in Port Angeles, though he told her more than once that there was much, much more to see in Seattle. Finally around 5:00, he pulled up in front of a restaurant called Bella Italia. Jasper insisted on paying for both their meals, which Alice quickly disagreed to.

"Jasper, come on, let me pay my half," she said.

"Absolutely not," he said. "When a man is escorting a lady to dinner, it's his duty to see that she is comfortable, gets what she'd like to eat and pays for the meal."

"Lay off the gentlemanly stuff for one night and let me pay for part of it." But he wouldn't.

After dinner they went for a walk in the park. It was a large park and they were able to just talk and laugh without a care in the world. As they were making their way back to the parking lot, they stopped and sat down by the fountain to watch the sunset. Though the sky was filled with the same red and gold colors that had appeared the first night Alice was in Forks, she liked the sunset in Forks better than here. In Port Angeles, there was all the commotion of the town and one could see the buildings that surrounded the park. At the Cullen's home in Forks, there was only the forest and watching the sun sink behind the trees. It was more peaceful there, more soothing. All the same, it was breathtaking.

"It's so beautiful," she said, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, you are," whispered Jasper, who was looking at her and not the sky.

"What?" asked Alice, turning to look at him.

Jasper's face turned red, but he didn't look away, nor did he stutter. He scooted a little closer to her and said again, "I said you're beautiful." She gave a small noise of disbelief and he said, "it's true and I don't want to hear you say you're not."

"Jasper," she began, but he silenced her by placing a finger over her lips. He moved that hand so it was now cupping her face, tilting it upwards to face him, and placed his other arm around her waist, pulling her closer to himself. He leaned down towards her, closed his eyes and gently covered her mouth with his.

It was as though fireworks were going off inside Alice's head. She had never felt anything like this in her entire life and she loved it beyond words. She wrapped around her arms around his neck, closed her eyes and kissed him back, feeling his lips turn upwards into a smile. He gently pulled back from her, a smile spreading across his face.

"Alice, I…" he began, but was cut off by his phone ringing. He gave a small gasp and pulled it out of his pocket. "Damn it," he muttered when he saw the name, "Rosalie" flash up on the caller ID screen. He hit the red button on the phone which meant ignore the call and put it away.

"Sorry about that," he muttered, his face now beet red.

"It's fine," said Alice, who had also turned red and was still trying to get her breath back from that kiss.

"I think we should start for home, it's getting late," said Jasper. Alice nodded and they headed back for the park entrance. The ride home seemed longer than the ride to the movies had been. Alice closed her eyes and pretended she was flying again, but it didn't help pass the time. She couldn't get her mind off that kiss. It had been absolute bliss, but now, because of Rosalie's very bad timing, she wasn't sure when she'd get another chance to kiss him or to hear what he'd tried to tell her a second before.

They got back to the house to find Rosalie's BMW parked in the garage. Jasper pulled up next to it and turned the engine off, dreading going in there and facing his sister. He and Alice walked in silently to find Rosalie sitting on the living room couch, with her arms crossed and her foot tapping impatiently against the hardwood floor.

"Where have you two been?" she asked. "I didn't think you were going out today."

"We went to see a movie and hang out in Port Angeles," said Jasper coolly. Though he had been dreading this discussion, he was still able to talk to her as calm and collected as he ever was and Alice had to admit she was impressed by it. She couldn't even look at Jasper right now without blushing, which would instantly tip Rosalie off about what had happened between them. Jasper continued, "we had dinner and went for a walk, that's all. I didn't think you'd be home until later. It's a long drive from Seattle."

"Emmett and I went out early and started back early," replied Rosalie. "I tried calling you. How come you didn't pick up?"

"I had my phone on vibrate, I didn't hear it," replied Jasper.

"It didn't go to voicemail, meaning if you didn't answer it, you pressed the ignore button."

"Damn it," he whispered again. She was sharp, he had to give her that.

"I'm going to let you two talk this out, I'm going to bed," said Alice, heading for the door.

"Oh no you don't," said Rosalie. "Jasper will go upstairs, you'll tell me everything that happened."

"What?" said Alice and Jasper together.

"I have a better chance of getting all the details from Alice," explained Rosalie, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. "Jasper, beat it!"

"If you insist," he said. The two girls heard him march upstairs, both knowing he wasn't very happy about it.

"So tell me everything, leave no detail out," said Rosalie eagerly. Alice told her all about the movie, the motorcycle driving lesson, dinner and the walk in the park. She didn't mention the kiss, however, making it seem as though they'd just sit down to watch the sunset.

"And that's it really," finished Alice lamely.

"Nothing else happened?" asked Rosalie skeptically.

"Nothing."

"Liar, something else did happen. What was it? Did he do something?"

"Perhaps," said Alice. She couldn't help but smile as the kiss drifted back to the surface of her mind.

"It had to have been good for you to be smiling like that. What was it?"

"I'll let you figure it out for yourself." Alice stood up to go, but Rose wasn't done yet.

"Oh my god, he kissed you, didn't he?"

"Good night Rose," said Alice before heading up the stairs.

She'd almost made it to the door of her room when a voice said, "I hope she didn't bug you too much." It was Jasper. She hadn't noticed that his door was slightly ajar and that he'd been standing behind it waiting for her. He came out into the hallway now to talk to her and she turned around to face him.

"No, she was fine," replied Alice.

"Let me ask you, are you all right with…I mean, did you mind that I kissed you like that?"

"No, I didn't mind," said Alice shyly. "In fact, I liked it."

"Really?"

"Mm hmm." Alice leaned up and gave her a small peck on the lips before saying. "It was fine, okay? Good night Jazzy." And she backed into her room before he could say what she thought he wanted to say, smiling at the nickname she'd just given him. She had a pretty definite feeling he'd say the three words every girl wants to hear from a guy and she definitely wasn't ready to hear them yet, not when she was still very unsure of herself. Even after what Jasper had said to her last night, she still didn't know if it was a good idea to stay here or if she should be making arrangements to leave for San Francisco. She still hadn't unpacked her bag from the previous night and decided that she'd unpack it in the morning, thinking that maybe she'd stay awhile longer. Little did she know that her reason for leaving would be brought to light in the next day or two.

**AN**: All right, so that's chapter five. I had to put the Cullen crest from the movie in there, I just had to. I loved the whole idea of them having a family crest to bind them altogether, so brought that in. I also had to have Alice and Jasper kiss in this chapter. They've gotten a step further with Alice revealing more about her home life and they went on a date, the kiss was inevitable. Besides, I wanted to have them kiss once before the Cullen's, Hale's and Bella find out what's going on. The discovery that she ran away from home and the reason for it will definitely come out in the next chapter. For now, please leave a review. It makes me really happy to hear what you guys have to say and happy authors tend to write quicker. So just a little message would be great! Stay tuned!

**P.S. (read this please!):** On my profile page, there's a poll that has to do with my Harry Potter story. Could you go over there and vote on it. I don't know how many of you have read that story, but even if you haven't read it, you can still vote on it. Could you please do that? I've had this poll open for six weeks and so far, it's only gotten four votes. Tell all your Harry Potter friends to vote on it as well please! Thank you!


	6. The Secret is Out

**AN**: Hello everyone! So when we last left off, Alice and Jasper had just gone on their first date and had their first kiss. Now we come to the part where the Cullen's, the Hale's and Bella find out Alice's secret and Alice is going to make a very stupid decision. Read on my friends!

**Chapter 6: The Secret is Out**

Two days after her date with Jasper, Alice woke up with a very strong sense of foreboding. Something was going to happen today, something she desperately wanted to avoid, but wasn't sure if she could. She then regretted the fact that she had unpacked her duffle bag from when she'd planned to sneak out, because she was sure she was going to need to make a quick getaway.

"I hate these darn feelings," she muttered. "Why can't my gut just leave me alone for once?"

It also didn't help the fact that this morning, she was more tired than she normally was. Her eyes were itching and watering too. She tucked herself back into bed and closed her eyes, trying to get the pounding in her head to stop.

She'd been in a sort of half-sleep for about an hour before she heard a soft knocking on her door.

"Alice," came Jasper's worried voice from the other side of the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah," she replied. She heard him quietly enter the room, then felt the bed dip down as he sat down next to her.

"Are you all right?" he asked. She could hear the worry in his voice and though she couldn't see it, she was sure it was written all over his face as well. She tried to open her eyes to look at him, but it was as though her eyelids had decided to go on hiatus. It was difficult for them to open a little bit, and if she did manage to open them, she probably wouldn't be able to make them stay open.

"Fine," she whispered. She heard him scoff in disbelief. "Jasper…" she began.

"Shh…" he said soothingly. She felt him place his hand on her forehead. "You're kind of warm, not to mention clammy. How do you feel?"

"Cold, dizzy, headache," she murmured, finally bringing herself to crack her eyes open, but almost immediately she had to close them again. Her eyes were watering so bad she couldn't see properly. Jasper was swimming in and out of her vision, forcing her to shut her eyes before she became even dizzier than she already was. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, then was startled as she felt Jasper's warm finger against her skin, brushing the tear away.

A voice from the doorway said, "Jasper, is everything okay?"

Alice had to stifle a groan as Rosalie entered the room. She didn't want people fussing over her.

"Oh my god, Alice," said Rosalie, walking swiftly over to the opposite side of the bed from Jasper. She placed her hand on Alice's forehead just as Jasper had done, then withdrew it before saying to her twin, "do we have any cold medicine left?"

"I think there's some in my medicine cabinet," he replied. "But I'm pretty sure it's the only cold medicine we have."

Rosalie was out of the room before he could finish. He turned back to Alice and said, "were you feeling like this last night?"

"No, just now," she replied. She was fighting the urge to go back to sleep, but she knew she had to stay awake if there was medicine in the house. Not that she wanted to take the stuff. She hated the way liquid medicine tasted and she always found it difficult to swallow pills. Back in Chicago when she'd gotten sick, she'd always forced herself to swallow the stuff so she wouldn't have to miss work. If she missed even one shift, it meant less salary and she'd needed every penny to pay the bills for their house and to take care of her mother.

Rosalie was back in just a few minutes, carrying a small bottle and a glass of water. "I searched every medicine cabinet in this place. This is the only bottle left in the whole house and it only has like two pills left in it."

"Two's enough," said Jasper, taking them out of her hands. "We'll just have to get some more from Carlisle." He opened the bottle and poured the two remaining pills into his hand. Alice, who had been beginning to drift asleep again, opened her eyes again when she felt Jasper's hand behind her head, gently raising it up so she could swallow better.

"Open up," he said, tipping the pills into her mouth before giving her a sip of water.

"Thanks," she whispered as she felt him gently lower her back onto the pillow.

"Try to get some sleep, I'll take care of you," was the last thing she heard before drifting off.

Alice spent several hours sleeping off her cold. There were times when she felt close to waking up, but sleep overtook her again. But those times brought her comfort because she could feel Jasper sitting there with her, which made her as happy as could be considering the circumstances. When she finally did manage to fully wake up, not only did she feel better physically, but her morale was given an enormous boost when she found Jasper still sitting beside her.

"Hey," he said quietly, a small smile beginning to appear on his face.

"Hey," she said weakly, trying to sit up. She blushed as Jasper's hand found her shoulder and pushed her back onto the bed. "Jazzy, I'm fine."

He chuckled at the nickname she'd started using the last couple days. He didn't mind her saying it when it was just the two of them, but he was hoping to God that Emmett never heard it. He then said to her, "how are you feeling?"

"Still tired, but better, thanks," she replied. She sighed as she felt him place his hand on her forehead again and then heard him exhale in relief.

"Well, your temperature's gone down, that's a good sign," he said. "You probably shouldn't go anywhere today though."

"That's not an option," said Rosalie, barging into the room with her purse slung over her shoulder. "Esme just called. She says that storm outside is fixing to get worse and she wants us all over there so she can keep an eye on us."

It was only then that Alice realized it was raining outside. Rain was pelting down on the earth and though there was no thunder and lightning, Alice had the very definite feeling that it was going to come very shortly.

"Has it been raining all day?" she asked.

"All day," confirmed Jasper. "You slept through the worst of it though. There was some major thunder and lightning earlier. It let up a bit this last hour."

"And according to the weather channel, it's supposed to pick up again," said Rosalie. "Esme is worried sick about the three of us. She wants us all to go over to the Cullen's place; Bella's already been there all day." Seeing Alice's skeptical look, she said, "relax Alice. There's actually a storm shelter in the basement, so we'd actually be safer there than here."

"Get dressed Alice," said Jasper, getting up to leave. "I'll get a few things together."

It took Alice a little longer than it normally did to get dressed because she was still so out of it, but she put on a pair of jeans and a sweater that she thought might keep her warm. She had a feeling that Jasper was going to make her go up to her room and lay down again as soon as they got there.

She headed down the stairs to the garage, but at a slower pace than her normal bouncy self.

"Are you okay?" asked Jasper, looking up at her from the foot of the stairs.

"I'm still a little dizzy," she replied. She began to chant inside her head, "one step at a time. Just take it easy." But she didn't have to take it easy, because she heard the sounds of heavy footsteps on the stairs and knew Jasper was standing right by her. Before she could ask him what he was doing, he'd swept her petite form up in his arms and was carrying her the rest of the way downstairs.

"Jazz," she groaned.

"No arguments," he said. "You need to save your strength."

She had to admit she didn't mind being carried. She also realized this was the first time she'd been conscious while he was carrying her. The morning of their date she'd woken up in bed and realized that Jasper must've carried her up from the backyard. She closed her eyes and tried not to blush as she realized that she fit perfectly in his arms. He carried her out to the car and Rosalie opened the back door of the BMW for him. To her surprise, he got in the backseat with her and let her rest her head on his lap.

"So what, am I acting as chauffeur?" asked Rosalie, getting in the driver's seat.

"If you want to put it that way, yes," said Jasper with a smile. Rose just rolled her eyes as she started the car, put the hood up on the BMW, and backed out of the driveway. She drove as fast as she dared in that rain, meaning it took them about ten extra minutes to reach the Cullen's house in the forest. She pulled up in her usual parking place in between Emmett's Jeep Wrangler and Bella's truck. As soon as the engine was off, Jasper had the door open and was helping Alice out. She protested when he started to pick her up again.

"Jasper, I'm fine, I can walk," she said. He looked a little doubtful and just to prove herself, she wrestled out of his grasp and started walking towards the door that led to the kitchen hallway. He chuckled and fell in step beside her, his arm around her waist in case she needed his help.

The rest of the family was already waiting for them in the living room. They'd gotten there just in time, the storm had started to pick up again. The rain was pounding harder on the walls of the house and thunder was rumbling in the distance, though it'd be awhile before said thunder and lightning reached Forks.

"There you are," said Esme, coming over to hug both Alice and Jasper. "I know I sound like an overprotective old bat, but I don't want any of you kids out there in the storm."

"You're not an overprotective old bat, don't say that," said Jasper kindly.

"That's not what Emmett says," said Edward slyly.

Emmett nearly choked on the soft drink he'd been halfway through swallowing when Edward said that. "You did not just say that," he said menacingly to Edward, once he got his breath back.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," said Edward, who couldn't help but grin.

"You're gonna pay for that, Eddie-boy," said Emmett, getting to his feet. Edward was already out of the room and up the stairs though. He was the quickest person on his feet Alice had ever met. Emmett was after him in a heartbeat. Everyone else laughed as the two of them chased each other around the upstairs. Finally, they settled down and came back to sit down with the rest of the family.

"Bella," said Edward suddenly, concern flooding his voice. "You've been acting kind of strange all day, is something wrong?"

It was true. Bella had been particularly quiet all day. She'd nodded hello to Jasper when he'd walked in, but hadn't even looked at Alice. When Edward and Emmett had had their little scene a moment before, she hadn't laughed nearly as hard as she normally would.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine," she said, but she was a terrible liar and she knew it.

"What is it, Bells?" asked Emmett, a frown on his face. He, too, had noticed his "little sister" acting strange all day.

"Nothing," she said, a little more forcefully.

But then, she threw a quick, nervous glance at Alice, a glance only Alice saw. And in that moment, it clicked in Alice's head and a single phrase ran through her mind, "_crap. She knows._" And her one priority now was to get out of there before Bella told everyone her secret.

Then an idea came into her mind. Glad for the fact that she was still feeling a little ill anyway, she rolled her head back and let it fall onto Jasper's shoulder, pretending to be out of it for a second. Attention automatically shifted to her.

"Alice," came Jasper's slightly panicked voice. "Alice, are you all right?"

She felt his hands on her shoulders gently shaking her and after waiting about five seconds, opened her eyes again. She blinked several times to get them all in focus, which was harder than it sounded, because her eyes were still watering a good bit.

"What, what is it?" she asked in a weak voice. She didn't have to work hard to feign that either.

"You zoned out for a second," said Rosalie. "Are you okay?" Alice just nodded.

"What's the matter, dear?" asked Esme, placing her hand on Alice's forehead.

"She was sick this morning," Jasper answered for her. "And we've run out of cold medicine at home."

"Do you need to go upstairs and lie down?" asked Carlisle.

"No, I'm fine," said Alice. "I need some water. I'll be right back." She got up to go to the kitchen for some water, but Jasper was ahead of her.

"Sit down, I'll get it," he said.

"No, Jasper I'm fine," she said, slightly pushing him away and making her way to the kitchen. No sooner had she reached up for a glass than Bella and Esme had come in after her.

"Sit down right there, Alice," said Esme, pointing to a chair in the breakfast nook. "I'll try and track down some Tylenol. Carlisle's already searching round his study for some, I'll look in the bathrooms upstairs. Are you sure you don't want to lie down?"

Alice nodded and watched as Esme walked down the hallway. There was an awkward silence before Bella cleared her throat and said, "Alice, can we talk?"

"What about?" asked Alice nervously.

"You know very well what about," said Bella. "Why didn't you tell us you ran away from home?"

Alice gave a defeated sigh, closed her eyes and said, "How did you know?"

"It's not really that hard to figure out from the way you've been acting every time the mention of Chicago or your parents comes up," replied Bella as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But my dad found the missing person's report. Your mom filed it two days after you left."

"What?" asked Alice in disbelief. She didn't think her mom would even notice she was gone, never mind try to find her.

"Alice, why didn't you tell us?" repeated Bella.

"I didn't want you to know, any of you. I knew you'd send me back."

"Alice," began Bella, her voice rife with disappointment, but a sound from the living room cut her off. It sounded as though Emmett had knocked someone's bag over and the contents had been spilled all over the living room floor.

There was a moment of silence, then Rosalie's voice called, "Bella, can you come in here please?"

"Oh no," said Bella. Alice could see from the look on her face that she'd brought the missing person's report with her and that she hadn't been planning to tell everyone else until after she'd gotten the truth out of Alice. She walked back into the living room to see if Rosalie had indeed been reading that report.

Alice crept into the hallway, where she could clearly hear what was being said in the living room. She heard Rosalie's sigh of disappointment, then heard her say, "Jasper, read."

"Oh no," Alice pleaded silently. "Don't show it to Jasper."

But she then heard Jasper's frustrated sigh and his voice ask, "why didn't she tell us?"

That was it. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Jasper's voice was fraught with disappointment and heartache, two things she couldn't bear to hear. Alice knew she had to get out now, before they called her back in to talk about it. Five words were now running through her head, "_San Francisco, here I come._"

Now the question was how to get there. She knew she wouldn't be able to take any of the cars and it was too far to run back to the house and get her bag. But she couldn't ask any of them to take her back to the Hale's place. She couldn't bear to have them look at her with anger and disappointment and worst of all, regret at ever having welcomed her into their lives. There was nothing else for it, she had to run.

Without wasting another second, she crept quickly and quietly to the back door, hurriedly slipped through it, then sprinted across the rain-soaked lawn into the forest. She knew it was only going to be a minute before someone came out looking for her, so she tried to push herself even faster. But the adrenaline that had coursed through her back at the house only took seconds to die down. She remembered too little too late that it was pouring rain and that she had a cold. She could feel her face getting hotter from the exhaustion of running combined with the fever, which was beginning to rise higher than it had that morning.

"Alice!" she heard in the distance.

"Oh no," she murmured. She was still too close to the house. She pushed herself to keep running, but she was so tired, she could barely even walk. She forced herself to take a few more steps before it became too much for her. The world was spinning around her and her vision was starting to go dark at the edges. She'd lost consciousness before she hit the ground, falling into a small patch of leaves that did precious little to shield her from the onslaught of rain.

---------

It was several hours before Alice woke up again, and even then, she didn't wake up fully. It took several minutes for her to realize that her surroundings had changed. She was no longer in the forest, no longer soaked to the skin and getting wetter by the second. She was lying in a nice, warm bed, she could feel a heater nearby and someone was running a damp washcloth over her forehead.

"Alice?" The voice sounded distant and far off. She couldn't even tell whose it was.

"Alice?" There was it again. She knew she couldn't ignore it now. Her eyes just barely cracked open and through her blurred vision, she managed to make out Jasper looking down at her worriedly. He was the one still brushing a washcloth over her face and though he looked tired and anxious, he managed to smile at the sight of her awake.

"J…Jas…per," she stuttered out.

"I'm here, Alice," he said softly. "I'm right here." He reached for a bottle of medicine on the bedside table and asked, "do you think you'll be able to swallow these?" Without waiting for an answer, he poured two pills into his hand, then gave them to her along with some water. He then took the washcloth back up and began sponging her forehead again, which hopefully would reduce the fever.

She didn't take her eyes off him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw gold paint on the walls of the room she was in and realized that she was in her room at the Cullen's house. Then the events of the last few hours came back to her. Tears began to stream down her face, though she wasn't sure if they were caused by the fever or by the reason behind her running in the rain. Jasper ran the washcloth over her cheeks, brushing all her tears away.

"H…have to l…l…leave," she stammered, trying to sit up. The next second, Jasper's firm but gentle hand was pressing her back against the bed. She didn't have the strength in her to try and fight him off.

"You're not going anywhere," he said in a strong, commanding voice.

"B…but…" she began.

"No buts," he said, cutting her off. "You're in no condition to be going anywhere or doing anything. You shouldn't even move. Those few minutes you were in the rain made your fever spike severely." When he saw her try to protest again, he said, "get some rest, Ali. We'll deal with everything later. Right now, you've got to get well."

"Don't leave," she whispered. "Please don't."

He leaned down so his lips were right next to her ear and whispered back, "I won't, I promise."

She managed to smile up at him before falling asleep again, those four words giving her all the reassurance she could ever ask for. Knowing he was going to take care of her made her happier than anything else had in those last few weeks. She felt the hand that wasn't holding the washcloth wrap around hers and squeeze gently, obviously to provide comfort. It worked. And the last thing she felt before she fell asleep was his lips against her forehead. She couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face as the blackness overtook her again.

------------

Alice didn't wake up again until the next morning. When she awoke, she didn't feel hot, flustered and sweaty, her eyes weren't watering, and she had more strength than she'd had the previous morning. The sun was shining through the large glass windows and she could hear birds chirping in the forest. She looked for Jasper, panicking slightly when she didn't see him immediately. But she relaxed when she felt a weight on her hand. She turned her head to see him asleep next to her. He was sitting on his knees on the floor of the room, his left arm cushioning his head, which was turned slightly to face her. But what made her smile was the fact that his right hand was clamped tightly around hers, showing that he was ready to be there in case she needed him.

"He stayed," she whispered. "You stayed."

He made a slight grunting noise and shifted in his sleep, tightening his grip on her hand.

"That can't be comfortable," she thought to herself as she looked at him asleep on the floor. She wanted to wake him up, but the longer he stayed asleep, the longer she could put off the conversation she'd been dreading from the instant she arrived in Forks. Before she could make a decision, however, she heard footsteps in the hallway outside. Hurriedly, she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard the door open and soft footsteps approach her, stopping on her right side, the side opposite of Jasper. She felt a hand on her forehead, then that same hand went to her wrist, checking her pulse. Then she heard someone exhale deeply in relief.

"Thank God," they said. It was Carlisle.

"Carlisle?" came Esme's soft voice. "Is she all right?"

"She's going to be fine. Her fever broke during the night and her pulse is perfectly normal."

"Thank heavens," whispered Esme. She came to stand next to her husband and gave a small sigh as well. "Poor dear, why do you think she ran off like she did?"

"Because of something she said to Bella while they were in the kitchen," said Carlisle. "She was afraid more than anything we'd force her to go back to Chicago and apparently, she couldn't bear that."

"I would never make her go back," said Esme, resolve hard in her voice.

"We may not have a choice, darling," said Carlisle. "I don't want her to leave either, but technically, she's still her mother's daughter."

"She's eighteen, she can move out of her parent's house if she wants to," argued Esme. "I'd offer her a home here in a second. She needs someone to take care of her, Carlisle. Her mother obviously didn't do that. Why else would she have run away?"

"Quiet down," whispered Carlisle. Jasper had given another grunt in his sleep. "I say we wait until they both wake up, then we'll find out what's going on. Make no mistake, Esme, I'm not going to send her back if I can avoid it. I don't want to lose my daughter any more than you do. In the meantime, let them both sleep."

"Poor Jasper, I've never seen him like that," said Esme as they left the room. Alice heard the door being shut behind them, breaking off the next part of the conversation. She opened her eyes again, staring at the closed door in disbelief. Carlisle and Esme really did think of her as their daughter. It was then she realized just how stupid she'd been in thinking she'd had to leave. None of them wanted to see her leave and it'd taken her the entire month to see that. She could deal with the disappointment that was sure to be in Jasper's face now.

"I love you, Jasper," she murmured. "Just please don't hate me." Gathering her courage, she squeezed his hand a couple times, which under normal circumstances wouldn't be very effective in waking him up. This morning though, he'd been able to ignore Carlisle and Esme, but was ready if Alice gave any sign that she was awake. He lifted his head, rubbed his eyes to get the sleep out of them and looked over at Alice. His face broke into a relieved smile.

"Alice," he said joyfully. Before he could stop himself, he leaned forward, took her in his arms and kissed her, his mouth moving almost hungrily against hers. Taken aback by his sudden act of passion, it took her a moment to respond to it, but respond she did. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, taking for granted that this was a good sign and would make up for the discussion they were about to have.

He pulled back from her, cupped her face in his hands and said, "thank God you're all right. Don't ever do that to me again."

"Were you that worried?" she asked.

"You scared the hell out of me last night," he said. "That wasn't a good idea you know, running out into the woods in the middle of a storm with a cold. You're lucky you didn't catch pneumonia. When are you going to stop running and accept the fact that you're here to stay?"

"I've realized that now," she replied. "I heard Carlisle and Esme talking. You were right. They do think of me as their daughter."

"I told you so," he said. "Has it really taken you this long to figure out what I said was true?"

"Unfortunately yes," she whispered. "Were you here the whole night?"

"Yeah," he answered. "Bella and Rosalie tried to get me to leave a few times, saying they'd look after you, but I couldn't leave you alone. I just couldn't. Everyone else pulled their weight of course. Carlisle came in every hour to check your temperature and your pulse and everyone else stopped in once in a while to check on you. I think it was the first time I've ever seen Emmett without a smile on his face. And Edward turned white as a ghost when we found you. But he's very protective of his family, so I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise."

"Did Bella tell you about when she confronted me in the kitchen?"

"Yeah she did," replied Jasper. "After we got you back here, Carlisle made all of us wait in the hallway while he tried to help you. Bella told us she'd talked to you. She was crying it over it actually."

"What?" asked Alice in disbelief.

"She kept saying it was her fault, you running off like that. She said that maybe if she hadn't confronted you, you wouldn't have tried to run away. We all tried to convince her that wasn't true, but she wouldn't listen to us, not even to Edward and she always listens to Edward."

There was a moment of silence, then Jasper asked the crucial question, "why didn't you tell us, Alice?"

"I couldn't," she replied. "You'd either send me away or be so disappointed that I didn't tell you that you couldn't bear to look at me, bringing me to just leave on my own."

"Alice," he said. He buried his face in his hands for a moment, then ran them back through his hair and turned to look at her. "I can't say I'm not disappointed in you for not telling us. But I'm even more disappointed that you'd think that of me, of us."

"I'm sorry Jasper, I'm so sorry," she whimpered, tears beginning to stream down her face.

To her surprise, instead of brushing them away with his fingers like he normally did, he leaned down and kissed her tears away. "Everything's going to be all right, Ali. I promise, everything's going to be all right."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. They turned to see Esme standing in the doorway with breakfast for the two of them on a tray.

"Good morning, you two," she said as she walked over to stand next to them. "Alice, you're looking better. Do you feel well enough to eat something?"

"I feel fine, thanks Esme," said Alice, sitting up enough so that she'd be able to eat without spilling food and juice all over her. Esme smiled and set the tray down in front of her.

"You both need sustenance," she said. "Jasper, over there, barely ate anything while you were out." Alice stared at Jasper in shock. He looked as though he was wishing the ground would swallow him whole. "Eat up, both of you," said Esme. "We'll all be downstairs in the living room if you need anything."

"Thanks," said Alice and Jasper together. The second Esme was out of the room, Alice rounded on him. "You haven't eaten?"

"I was so worried about you, I wasn't very hungry," he replied. "Rosalie forced me to have some soup and a little bread but I could barely swallow it. All I could think about was whether or not you were going to make it through it the night."

"Jasper, what did happen after I went into the kitchen last night?" she asked.

He had been hoping against hope she wouldn't ask him that question. He desperately wanted not to relive the pain, the fear and the anxiety of that night. But if she asked, then he was going to tell it.

_Jasper watched Alice walk out of the room and into the kitchen, Esme and Bella trailing after her. He couldn't understand it. She'd been more than willing to let him take care of her this morning. Something had changed. He wanted to know what was up with Bella too. She'd always been like a little sister to him and because he was good at judging what kinds of emotions people were feeling at a certain time, he always knew instantly when she wasn't acting like herself._

"_Has she been like that all day?" he asked, turning to Edward and Emmett._

"_All day," confirmed Edward. "We were going to go out for a picnic in the woods, but the rain started just as she got here. It's probably just as well, I don't think she would've been paying much attention to anyone or anything around her. Something's been on her mind and she won't tell me what it is."_

"_That's kind of strange," said Rosalie. "Bella always says what's on her mind."_

"_Maybe something's happened to her mom down in Florida and she doesn't want to worry us," said Emmett. "Or maybe…oh crap." He'd been in the process of walking over to sit next to Rosalie and his fist had accidentally made contact with Bella's bag, knocking it over the side of the end table next to the couch. It fell to the ground with a thump and everything she had in it tumbled onto the floor._

"_Smooth Emmett," said Rosalie, kneeling down to pick up the debris. But there was more in that bag than just Bella's wallet, camera and cell phone. There was a paper, folded into fourths, which Bella had hidden in between her wallet and her checkbook, as though she was trying to hide it. Not a very good place to hide it either. Curiously, Rosalie unfolded the paper and had to stifle a gasp as to what it was._

"_What is it, Rosie?" asked Emmett._

_She ignored him and instead called into the kitchen, "Bella, can you come in here please?"_

_Bella walked back into the living room a second later to see Rosalie still staring at the paper in shock. "How did you get that?" asked the brunette._

_Rosalie ignored her as well, then let out a sigh of disappointment before handing the paper over to her twin. "Jasper, read," she said simply._

_Jasper took the paper curiously and unlike his sister, couldn't stifle the gasp when he saw what was on it. There was a large photo of Alice, with her name, age and birthday written next to it. It contained details of when she was last seen in Chicago and to contact so-and-so if she was found. But what got Jasper's attention was the words at the top, "Missing Person's" and the sentence that came under the physical description details._

"_Mary Alice Brandon was last seen by her mother at their home in Chicago. After a large row, Alice decided to run away from her home, leaving only a note saying that she didn't know exactly where she was going and that she wasn't coming back."_

_Jasper couldn't read any more. First off, he was surprised that this had come as a shock to him. After seeing how touchy Alice got about her home life, it should have been obvious to him and everyone else that she'd run away, the only question was why. But even more than that, he was disappointed that she hadn't told him herself. He buried his face in his hands, sighed and asked in a dejected and crestfallen voice, "why didn't she tell us?"_

"_Because she didn't want to leave," replied Bella. "I asked her about it in the kitchen just now. She said that…" She trailed off as the sound of a door shutting reached her ears. She turned her head back to the kitchen doorway and called, "Alice!" She ran back to the kitchen and saw that she hadn't been imagining it. The back door hadn't been shut properly and she could already see the rain beginning to erase footprints leading into the forest._

"_Edward! Jasper! Carlisle!" shouted Bella in alarm. The entire family came rushing in to see what was wrong. "Alice is gone," said Bella, turning to face them. "She must've heard what we were saying and decided to make a run for it."_

"_She's outside in this weather?" asked Esme, fear and panic written all over her face. "And with a cold?"_

"_Is she crazy? She'll catch her death out there!" said Rosalie angrily._

_But she shouldn't have said that. Jasper's face went dead white when he heard that Alice had run away from him again. If he didn't find her quickly, there's no telling what would happen to her._

_Luckily, Carlisle immediately took the initiative. He went down the hallway to the closet, got all the guy's coats, then passed them out to their owners. "All right, here's what we'll do. Esme, get some towels from the upstairs and wait down here with them. We're going to need to get Alice dried off and cleaned up the instant we bring her in. Bella, get Alice's room ready for her. Get my bag out of my study and anything else you think I might need to help her. Rosalie, get some hot water running in Alice's bathroom. You girls will have to get her cleaned up. The four of us are going out there and getting her."_

"_Be careful," said Esme, giving her husband a quick peck on the lips._

_The four guys quickly put on their jackets and darted out into the rain. Within seconds, they were all soaked to the skin. They followed Alice's footprints into the forest, but stopped when they came to a fork in the path ahead. The tracks had stopped a few feet back. There was no way to tell which way she'd gone, or if she'd even stayed on the path at all._

"_Edward and Jasper, take the left hand path, Emmett and I will take the right," said Carlisle. "If you don't find her, then rendezvous back here in fifteen minutes. Do not get separated."_

_Jasper had already taken off running down the path before Carlisle had finished speaking. Edward, being faster than all of them combined, had no problem in catching up with him. The two of them sprinted down the path, keeping an eye out for anything that might tell them Alice had been past._

"_Alice!" shouted Jasper. "Alice, where are you?"_

"_Jasper!" He turned when he heard Edward's voice call his name. Edward was staring at something further down the path. Jasper followed his gaze and when they both realized what it was, they both broke into a run towards it. Alice was lying unconscious in a pile of leaves just off the path. Jasper hurled himself on the ground next to her and gathered her limp form up in his arms._

"_Alice!" he said frantically, shaking her. "Alice, wake up please! Open your eyes!"_

_But she didn't. She didn't give any sign that she'd even heard him. Jasper looked up at Edward, who was kneeling on Alice's other side. He touched her forehead, then withdrew his hand in shock._

"_Damn," he muttered. "Her fever shot up! We have to find Carlisle and get her home!"_

_Jasper didn't need telling twice. He scooped Alice up in his arms, holding her like a fragile piece of glass that could break at any moment. The two boys ran down the path to the house, Edward shouting for Carlisle over the torrent of rain. They met Carlisle and Emmett running back down the path and one look at Alice lying motionless in Jasper's arms was all the motivation they needed to sprint back to the house. They got to the back porch, tired and muddy but relieved they'd found her. But they weren't out of the woods yet._

_Esme was waiting for them at the back door when they arrived. She had several towels in her arms and even more on the kitchen table. She nearly burst out crying when she saw Alice._

"_Oh the poor dear," she said. She handed a towel out to each of the guys, then took two and wrapped them around Alice, but she wasn't sure if they'd help. Jasper didn't say a word, he just carried Alice up to her room and laid her down in bed. Rosalie and Bella were already there, making sure they didn't need to go back down to Carlisle's study and get more supplies._

"_Alice!" said the two girls simultaneously. They rushed to her side and started asking what they could do to help._

_Carlisle turned to Edward, Emmett and Jasper and said, "I want you three to go get cleaned up. You won't be any help to Alice now, not for a little while."_

"_But Carlisle," said Jasper. "I can't…"_

"_Emmett," said Carlisle, interrupting him. He didn't need to continue either. Emmett grabbed Jasper under the arms and began to force him out of the room. Because of Emmett's size, Jasper didn't have a chance at fighting him off and he knew it. That doesn't mean he didn't try. He struggled against his friend's iron grip, but it was no use. Emmett led him out of Alice's room and the door was shut in his face._

"_Emmett, let go of me," said Jasper, still struggling._

"_Not until I know you won't go rushing back there," said Emmett, shoving Jasper forward into his own room._

"_So what if I do, I need to be there with her."_

"_Jasper, you can't do anything for her now," said Edward. "You have to let Carlisle and the girls take care of her."_

"_What if it was you in my place?" asked Jasper. "What if it was Bella lying sick like that? Would you just wait around until Carlisle told you her condition or would you fight to stay with her?"_

_Edward didn't answer, but Jasper knew his friend would be banging down the door trying to get to Bella if that were the case._

"_You have to relax, Jazz," said Emmett, still trying to restrain Jasper. "Edward's right, there's nothing you can do but wait for Carlisle to get done checking her over. Now can I let go?"_

_Jasper nodded his head, but he was still reluctant about the situation. Emmett released his friend, but was still wary of what he might do. Jasper just pushed his two friends out of his room and slammed the door on them. He slumped against the wall, held his face in his hands and sobbed for a few minutes. Finally, he pulled himself together enough to go clean himself up, but all his thoughts were with Alice. Once he had showered and changed clothes, he went back out into the hallway to find Edward and Emmett already there, also cleaned up and changed. Bella and Rosalie came out to sit with them as well, saying that Carlisle had kicked them out. Bella was crying into Edward's shoulder, saying that she shouldn't have left Alice alone in the kitchen and that it was her fault Alice had run away. She sobbed out the reason for thinking this and no one was able to find anything to convince her that the whole ordeal was not her fault. For half an hour, they sat against the opposite wall and waited for someone to tell them what was going on. Finally, Esme came outside to talk to them._

"_How's she doing?" asked Jasper hurriedly._

"_She's very sick," said Esme. "We cleaned her up and Carlisle gave her a bunch of medicine to try and bring the fever down, so now all we can do is wait and see. The best thing right now is for her to sleep it off. She's lucky she didn't catch pneumonia. Carlisle thinks she'll be all right."_

_Jasper let out a small sigh of relief when he heard she didn't have pneumonia and an even larger one when he heard that Alice would recover. "Can I go in and see her?" he asked. Esme stood aside to let him pass and he walked past without even bothering to say thank you._

_He staggered back when he saw the condition Alice was in. She was lying pale and still on the bed, her breathing was uneven and she was sweating bullets. Carlisle was spreading a damp washcloth over her forehead to try and reduce the fever. He looked up when he heard Jasper come in._

"_She should be just fine," he whispered, clapping his hand on Jasper's shoulder. "Now take great care of her."_

_Jasper just nodded. He walked over to sit next to Alice, taking her hand in his own and beginning to run the washcloth back and forth over her fevered brow._

"You had us all scared stiff, Alice," he said. "I've never been that worried in my life."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to do that to you."

"I know," he whispered. She could see the remembered torment in his eyes and sorely wished that she hadn't brought it up. He took a deep, shuddering breath and said, "why don't you take a shower and get changed? I'll wait out in the hallway for you and we'll go downstairs together. I think it's time we faced the music."

"You're right," she said. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door on him. She heard him walk out of her room and shut the door behind him and she was glad to finally have a minute alone. Jasper had stayed with her the entire night through. No one had ever cared for her like that before, not even her parents.

"He really is quite a catch," she thought to herself as she stepped in the shower. "I love you, Jasper."

What she didn't know was that Jasper was waiting in the hallway for her, thinking the same thing. One thing he hadn't told her was the things he said to her when she was asleep. As he waited for her to awaken, he kept murmuring the same things to her over and over again. "Please wake up, Alice. Even if it's only for a minute, give me some sign you're still with me. I love you."

When she came out of her room, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they walked downstairs to the living room together. It was time to face what she'd been running from for so long.

**Author's Note:** All right, that's chapter 6 done. What'd you think? I had to have Alice run away again. I had to show just how afraid she was of the others finding out her secret and then it shows later how silly she was being when she hears Carlisle and Esme talking in whispers about her. The next chapter is going to have Alice telling her story to the Cullen's and it's going to have her make a decision that'll affect the entire family. Does anyone have a guess as to what that decision might be? Please leave a review telling what you think and please vote on the poll on my profile page if you haven't already. Stay tuned!


	7. Remember Me, Recuerdame

**AN**: Hello everyone! So when we last left off, Alice's secret had been revealed that she'd run away from home and she ran away from the Cullen's before they could talk to her about it. The whole confrontation is going to come in this chapter and she's going to make a decision that's going to affect all of them, especially her and Jasper.

Also, if you're wondering about the title, it's the title of a song called, "Remember Me, Recuerdame," by Celtic Thunder. The man who sings it is named Paul Byrom and he's got this really good tenor voice. I love Celtic Thunder and I think this is my favorite song in the entire concert. I was listening to it as I was writing this chapter and it just hit me how perfectly the song fit the circumstances, so I actually worked the lyrics in at the end of the chapter. I must've listened to the song four or five times as I was writing the ending. So when you get to that part, please get on YouTube and watch the video or just listen to the song. I've posted a link on my profile page that will take you to my favorite of the many videos they've posted of that song. So please watch it!

Don't forget to leave a review when you're done! Happy reading!

**Chapter 7: Remember Me, Recuerdame**

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Alice paused for a moment before entering the living room.

"Are you okay?" asked Jasper, turning to face her.

"I'm fine," she murmured. "I'm just really nervous."

"Why?"

"Because I've been avoiding this talk for an entire month, that's why. It's a little difficult to go into a room and discuss a subject you don't want to talk about with people you hope more than anything else can still accept you as family." She had to stop and take a breath at that point, having said the entire sentence in one breath. Jasper couldn't help but give a little chuckle at that. She continued, "the point is, I'm not sure I can go in there and face disappointment coming at me from all sides."

"Trust me, no matter how disappointed they'll be in you for not telling them, they'll be even more relieved that you're all right and didn't catch your death of pneumonia," said Jasper. "That's all I could think about while you were asleep. I wasn't sure if you were going to wake up or not. I just hoped and prayed that you'd open your eyes eventually."

"And I did," said Alice. "Your prayers were answered."

"Sometimes you just have to have a little faith," he said. "Right now, you have to have faith that the Cullen's want you to stay here and be part of the family. I can tell you with certainty that they do, but you need to hear it from them yourself. Come on, let's go in."

Jasper guided Alice into the living room with one hand on the small of her back, fully prepared to grab her around the waist in case she decided to run off again, but he doubted that was going to happen. When they entered the living room, they found the rest of the family anxiously awaiting them. Carlisle and Esme were standing by one of the bookcases, talking in whispers. Edward and Bella were sitting on the sofa, Bella in Edward's lap, her head buried in the crook of his neck. Emmett was sitting on the windowsill with his arms crossed. Rosalie was pacing back and forth across the living room floor, mumbling to herself every once in a while about how Alice was going to get it for making them all worry so much. Every single head shot up when the last two members of the family entered. There was silence for a moment, then commotion.

"Alice!" shouted Bella and Rosalie together. They immediately ambushed her, pulling her into a large group hug, saying over and over again how thankful they were that she was all right.

"I swear if you ever do that again, I'll send you headfirst into the nearest snowdrift before you have time to breathe," said Rosalie. She could have said a lot worse things than that, but she didn't want to with Carlisle and Esme listening. She just continued with, "You scared us all to death."

"Alice, I'm so sorry," said Bella, hugging her friend as tightly as she possibly could. "Last night was all my fault. I shouldn't have brought it up. I should've waited for you to tell us on your own what was going on with you. Do you forgive me?"

"Bella, there's nothing to forgive, it wasn't your fault," said Alice.

"I told you so Bella," said Edward, giving her his crooked grin. Emmett gave a loud cough, making Edward rolled his eyes and say, "_we_ told you so. Happy Emmett?"

"Ecstatic," said Emmett, getting up and heading over to Alice. In one motion, he swept her up in his arms, spun her once and was hugging her to himself, giving a relieved laugh as he did. "You're crazy, you know that?" he asked her.

"So I've heard," she choked out. "Emmett, I'm going to need to breathe at some point here."

"Sorry," he said, setting her down next to Jasper. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she said, trying to get her breath back. Rosalie shook her head at Emmett and playfully slapped him on the arm. Jasper and Edward both rolled their eyes at the two of them.

Edward came up, gave Alice the kind of hug a brother would give to his sister and said, "do you mind telling us why you nearly gave us all heart attacks?"

"Yeah, that'll make her feel better about the whole situation, Edward," said Jasper sarcastically.

"While he could have stated it a little more eloquently," said Carlisle. "I think he's right."

Alice sighed and looked back up at Jasper, who gave her a reassuring smile before leading her over to the couch. They sat down together, Bella on her other side. Everyone else took seats around them. She took a moment to gather her courage and think where to start. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to tell the story, but then she felt Jasper's hand close around hers, and she knew that no matter what, he'd be there for her.

"Okay," she started. "I guess it started when my dad walked out on my mom and I last year." She broke off with a shudder; the memory of that night still brought tears to her eyes.

"What, he just left out of the blue?" asked Bella.

"Yeah," replied Alice. "He'd been starting to get a little testy in the weeks beforehand. When I tried to ask him about it, he'd tell me it was none of my business. Mom and I tried to figure out what was up, but then, one day he just packed his suitcase and left. She tried to convince him to stay, but he wouldn't, not for any reason. He just said that we relied on him too much, how he was sick of having to pay for every single thing either of us wanted and that he hated us." Tears began to roll down her cheeks at her father saying that. "He just walked out the door and we never saw him again. A couple weeks later, we got a call from an attorney saying that he needed Mom's signature on some divorce papers and he'd already signed some other papers disowning me."

"What?" interjected Carlisle and Esme. It was unfathomable to either of them that a father could do something like that to his daughter. Neither of them had ever had to deal with anything like that before. They'd both had parents that loved them and took care of them, and Edward and Emmett had both been orphaned when Carlisle and Esme found them, so a situation like Alice's was something they weren't accustomed to. Esme wanted more than anything to walk over and envelop her newest child in a hug, but she knew she shouldn't, not until Alice was done telling the story at least.

"Yep," said Alice. "I wish I could tell you otherwise, but it's true. It gets worse though."

"How could it get any worse?" asked Emmett. He was already starting to turn red with anger. Rosalie was sitting next to him, both her arms wrapped around one of his. She was hoping that would calm him down a little, but that was proving difficult, because she was getting as angry as he was. Edward was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, while Bella just looked at Alice in shock. Jasper was doing the best job of keeping calm, but Alice could see the fury burning in his eyes. He was also holding her hand so tightly that it was beginning to feel like it was going to fall off. She cleared her throat and looked pointedly at him, making him loosen his grip, but not let go.

She continued, "it gets worse because my mom couldn't deal with it afterwards. Instead of getting a better job and trying to support me on her own, she turned to alcohol. I had to pick up all the slack instead. I wasn't able to have a life of my own, 'cause I had to work three jobs while trying to keep up with school. What little money we had in savings from before Dad left had to go towards school and the house, which we lost anyway. We had to move into a smaller house more in our price range. Mom was drinking so badly, I had to start keeping my eye on her all the time on top of everything else, and she began to hate me."

She heard Esme muttered, "everything about that is wrong," but Carlisle shushed her and nodded at Alice to keep going.

Alice took a shaky breath and said, "then, I was making dinner for myself one night and she came in the back door. She wasn't nearly as drunk as she normally was, putting me on my guard. She started shouting at me, then suddenly, she…" Alice broke off as a sob escaped her lips. She felt Jasper's grip on her hand tighten again and felt his other arm come around her shoulders.

"It's all right, darlin'," he said quietly. "It's all right, just tell us what happened."

Alice let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding and said, "she hit me across the face."

At her words, there was instant uproar. Emmett and Rosalie both gave loud yells of anger and began shouting about how they were going to go to Chicago and give Meredith Brandon what she deserved. Bella had dissolved into tears. Edward wrapped one arm around her and scooted over to wrap the other one around Alice in comfort. He quietly whispered calming things to Bella and every so often would throw a sympathetic glance in Alice's direction, so in a way, it was as though he was comforting both of them. Carlisle swore under his breath; Esme could no longer restrain herself. She crossed the room in three strides and wrapped her arms around Alice, saying how everything was all right.

Jasper stayed silent throughout the entire round of noise and confusion. Alice chanced a glance over at him and saw that he had gone pale and was shaking furiously. He was trying but failing to keep his emotions in check, trying desperately to be strong for her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and felt his arms come even more tightly around her.

It took about ten minutes for everyone to calm down. Once they all had, she asked them, "where does that leave us now?"

"We have to decide what's best for you," said Carlisle. "We're more than prepared to offer you a home here if you'd like to take it. But you have to decide for yourself if you want to stay, go somewhere else or return to Chicago. It's your call, Alice."

For a second, Alice thought there was going to be more chaos. Everyone stood up and started shouting at Carlisle, each person somehow managing to make himself heard.

"No way, Dad," said Emmett. "She's staying here! She's staying right here!"

"She needs someone to take care of her and she needs friends," said Bella. "That's what we are and what we've been doing for the last month. This is her home now."

"She's my sister now, I'm not letting her go anywhere," said Edward firmly.

"Bella and Edward are right," said Rosalie. "We can't just let her go off on her own."

"She's my daughter, Carlisle," said Esme. "Please don't make me send her off."

"She? Hello, I'm right here," said Alice indignantly.

It took several minutes for everyone to calm down after that. Finally, Carlisle said, "Alice, it's your choice. Do you want to stay here with us?"

Everyone held their breath waiting for her answer, which made Alice hang her head out of shame. She knew the answer she was about to give definitely wasn't the one they wanted to hear.

"I don't know what I want," she said. "Part of me wants to stay here more than anything else, but the other part is saying that I have to go back to Chicago and at least see how my mom is doing."

"Alice, how can you go back after how she's been treating you?" asked Rosalie angrily.

"I don't know, I just…I just feel like I have to," said Alice. "She's the one that filed the missing person's report and she's left me about fifty voice messages, so maybe I should go back and see if she's pulled her act together."

"What if it's a ruse to make you come back and support her and her alcohol addiction again?" asked Edward.

"I don't know," said Alice, feeling like she'd said that too many times already. "I might go away again."

"Please Ali," whispered Jasper. "Please stay here with us. We'll take care of you."

"I know," Alice whispered back. Suddenly, she stood up and said, "I need to go for a walk. I need to clear my head." Jasper stood up to go with her, but she said, "please Jasper, I need to be by myself for awhile." He looked skeptically at her and she said, "don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

She made her way to the back porch and took a few paces into the backyard. She could feel Jasper's eyes watching her from the kitchen window so she knew going into the forest would be a bad idea. So much for that walk. She sat down against one of the trees in the backyard, leaned back against the trunk and let her thoughts envelop her. She knew the Cullen's were more than willing to let her stay forever, but she knew if she stayed, she'd have a lingering doubt in her mind over whether or not her mother had changed. But if she went home, she wasn't sure she'd ever come back to Forks and to say goodbye to her friends was something she didn't want to do.

"May I join you?" She started a little at the voice, but relaxed when she saw Edward standing next to her.

"Hey," she said. "Yeah, sure, sit down."

He sat next to her and there was a moment of silence, then he asked her, "why are you so hesitant about staying here? Is it because of your mother?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I just feel like I have to go and check on her. But what I'm afraid of is that if I go back to Chicago, I won't be able to come back here. It's a no win situation, Edward. If I stay, I won't be truly happy because I won't know what condition she's in. If I go back, I'll most likely be forced to stay there and I love it here."

"What happens if she does turn out to still be drinking?" asked Edward. "Will you come back?"

"Probably not," said Alice. "I might go somewhere else, but coming back here would make it seem like I'm taking you and your family for granted, like I'm just using you to give myself a home. I'd hate that feeling."

"And if she has changed?" asked Edward.

"Then most likely, I'll stay in Chicago and live with her. I'll have to take a chance on repairing our relationship. When I was working to support us, I didn't think of much else."

"What of your future?"

"What about it?"

"From what it sounds like, you scarcely have enough money to feed yourself. Don't think we all didn't notice how skinny you were when you arrived." Alice thought back to her first day in Forks and how Rosalie had made a comment about her being just skin and bones. No one had said anything at the dinner table that night, but now, it was obvious they'd all noticed it. And over the entire month, she'd started eating well again and had gotten up to a healthy weight, much healthier than she had been when she left Chicago.

"Your point is?" she asked.

"Before I tell you, tell me how much did you eat before you arrived here?"

"Do you really want to know?" He nodded. She looked at the ground and said, "promise you won't tell the others, particularly Esme. She'd have a fit if she knew how little I'd been eating."

"I won't tell them," said Edward and Alice noticed that he'd avoided the word "promise" meaning he probably would tell them if he had a reason to, but she knew Edward wouldn't come out and say it when they got back to the house. Emmett would, but Edward wouldn't.

She said, "usually, I got a couple pieces of toast for breakfast or a bowl of cereal and I'd have a microwave dinner when I got home every night. I didn't have time for lunch, so I just packed some crackers in my bag or something and go to work." Seeing Edward's disapproving look, she said, "it was enough to get me by."

"It's not healthy though, eating that little," said Edward. "It was obvious to most of us you hadn't been eating, especially during those first few meals. You grabbed everything in sight as though it was going to disappear at any second. Which it might have, considering Emmett was at the table as well."

Alice couldn't help but laugh at that. Then she asked, "what does that have to do with my future?"

"Because if you don't have enough money to feed yourself, what are you going to do about school? You still have a year of high school left and what about college? Are you going to go at all?"

"Edward, the whole idea of college went right out the window the instant my father left. We wouldn't have been able to scrounge up enough money for me to go school and I doubt I would've gotten enough financial aid to go to a halfway decent place."

"If you had good grades, you could've gotten a full ride some place; you wouldn't even have to pay a dime."

"But it was so hard to keep my grades up with all the work I had to, take care of the house, take care of my mother, pay the bills." Here Alice was starting to tear up a bit again. "There were some nights I was so busy with my job that I had to stay up until the early hours of the morning to get my homework done. There were some nights I got no sleep, others where I didn't do my homework at all because I needed to catch up on sleep. It was a wonder I managed to pass all my classes."

Edward sighed and ran his fingers through his messy bronze hair. "Is there really no hope for you to go college?"

"I doubt there is," replied Alice.

"There's another perk of staying here with us. Carlisle will pay for it in a second."

"I don't want him to pay for it. I told you, I already feel like I'm taking you guys for granted."

"You're not," said Edward. "But whatever you decide to do, we'll support it, no matter what."

"Thank you Edward," said Alice. He just nodded and got up to go back inside. He held out his hand to help her up and she took it. They walked back inside together and Alice saw that the others had cleared out of the living room, most likely to talk in private about what the best course of action was. Jasper had retreated upstairs to his room when he saw them coming in, trying to make it look like he hadn't been watching them, which of course he had.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Edward turned to go into his room, while Alice headed up to the third story. She entered her own room, hoping that Jasper wouldn't hear her close the door. She didn't want to talk to anyone right now. She had to figure out what her next step was. That actually was obvious. What wasn't obvious was what she was going to do after she took that step. She pulled out her cell phone and pushed down on the "1" button, which called her voicemail. She put the phone to her ear and listened to the first of many messages her mother had left her, the first one left a day after she had run away.

_Alice,_

_That note you left had better been left as a joke. But considering your music box and your pictures and a bunch of your clothes are gone, I guess it wasn't. It was downright irresponsible for you to leave me in my greatest hour of need like that. Get home in the next day or two and I'll be willing to overlook this whole thing and things will go back to normal. Just get home soon and get back in one piece._

The tone of that one had been more angry than upset, but that was to be expected. She had to admit it was irresponsible of her to just leave without a plan, but she wouldn't exactly call an alcoholic addiction her mother's greatest hour of need. Leave it to the new Meredith Brandon, the one who had emerged after her husband had left to make it, to turn the situation around so that it was all about herself and not about her daughter. Alice sighed and went on to the next message.

_Alice,_

_This isn't funny. Where are you? You've been gone for three days. I've already gone to the police, but they say there isn't much they can do. With the man power the way it is right now, they aren't in a position to send someone out to look for you. Please sweetheart, come home so that I can call them and tell them you're all right._

Again, Alice sighed. Her mother still didn't sound very concerned. Sober definitely, but not concerned. That had to be a good sign though, didn't it? Her mother not drinking was a huge improvement. She listened through all the rest of the messages, each one getting steadily and steadily more anxious and upset. The final few were practically hysterical.

_Alice,_

_Sweetheart, where are you? You've never been gone this long. I realize now that this is punishment for how I've been treating you, but did you really have to go and leave me like this? I also realize I haven't been the easiest person to talk to lately, but couldn't you have said _something_ to me, anything at all? Please come back and help me get things back to the way they were before your father left. One of my friends has already convinced me to go into rehab for all my drinking. We can help each other get through this. Please sweetheart, we'll find a way past this, just please come home. I love you._

That did it. It definitely wasn't a ruse now. Her mother had said "I love you" to her and had said it with such conviction that she knew it wasn't a trick to get her to come back. And she knew now that she had to go back. She had to help her mom, she had to make sure she was all right and then she would decide where she was going to go from there. Most likely she would spend the next several years helping her mom get back on her feet. That definitely ruled out college and probably her last year of high school, but it would be worth it to see her mother getting better. She sighed as she made her choice.

She headed for the bedroom door with the sole intention of going downstairs to talk to Carlisle, but as soon as she exited into the hallway she found Jasper standing right outside the door, his fist raised as though he'd been about to knock on the door. They jumped when they saw each other, then relaxed after a minute.

"What are you doing?" asked Alice curiously.

"I was fixing to come in and talk to you," said Jasper.

"Actually, the person I need to talk to right now is Carlisle," said Alice, heading for the stairs.

"About what?" asked Jasper nervously, following her downstairs.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, I just have to talk to Carlisle."

"Alice, what's going on? You can't be going back to Chicago." Jasper's voice was frantic by this point. He couldn't bear the thought of Alice leaving them and going back to a place that held such misery for her. She just looked sadly at him before knocking on Carlisle's door. She could hear the sounds of voices pause from inside and knew that Carlisle and Esme were in there together. That would just make it harder for her to tell them what she needed to tell them.

A second later, she heard Carlisle's voice say, "come in." She took another sad look at Jasper before entering the room and closing the door in his face.

Carlisle was sitting at his desk, some papers in front of him, but it was obvious he wasn't going to be concentrating on them anytime soon. Esme had pulled one of the chairs over from the window so that she was sitting in front of her husband. The two of them had been talking quietly and quickly over the last several minutes; both of them now silent as they wondered why Alice wanted to see them.

"Can we talk?" she asked, taking a couple steps farther into the room.

"Of course," said Carlisle. He got up and pulled another chair over from the window, setting it down at an angle so that it was facing both him and Esme. He sat back down and gestured for her to sit in the empty chair.

"What is it, Alice?" asked Esme.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," said Alice. "But I've decided to go back to Chicago."

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other sadly, Carlisle without a hint of surprise in his expression. It was as though he'd been expecting this since the start of the discussion earlier, but had been hoping that she would think otherwise. Esme had been prepared for this as well, but she had been hoping and praying even harder that it would not happen. She was working very hard not to burst into tears.

"Why, sweetheart?" asked Esme. "Why do you want to go back there?"

"It's not that I want to, it's that I have to," said Alice.

"No you don't, you can stay right here," argued Esme.

"No I can't, Esme, I'm sorry," said Alice. "I've just been listening to the voice messages my mother's left me for this last month. She needs me back there and I have to go back and see that she's all right. I'll probably have to sacrifice the next couple years of my life to make sure she gets back on her feet but it'll be worth it."

Carlisle sighed and brought a hand to his forehead in frustration. He said, "Alice, you can't throw your life away trying to get your mother to come off of this addiction. I know you feel compelled to help her and I respect that, I really do. If I was in your position, I probably would have done the same thing. But you're giving up your future. You have so many options available to you and you're bypassing them all and going back to the one place you were so desperate to get away from."

"She's my mother, Carlisle," protested Alice. "Whether I like it or not, she's my mother and I have an obligation to her."

"She had an obligation to you, but she ignored it," said Esme, trying very hard to keep her voice calm but failing miserably. "You were her child. She was supposed to take care of you when your father wouldn't, but when he abandoned you that day, she did too. You've already spent the last year or so brooding about it, you can't spend the rest of your life brooding about how you've gone back to a place of such unhappiness."

"I'm sorry, Esme, I'm truly sorry," said Alice. "I love it here and I love all of you and leaving Forks is most likely the hardest thing I'm ever going to have to, but I can't stay here when I have a job to do."

"Alice, it isn't your job to clean up your mother's mess," said Carlisle.

"Yes it is, it always has been. No one else is going to help her get her act together."

"What about Jasper?" asked Esme suddenly.

"What about Jasper?" asked Alice nervously, uncomfortable aware that he was still standing outside the door.

"Can't you see how much he cares for you? It would break his heart if you were to leave. He's never looked at anyone the way he looks at you." And Alice was reminded of the first time she spent the night at the Cullen's, when Bella had told her the story of how she'd first met Rosalie and Jasper. She'd also said that Jasper had never been interested in anyone, not even back in Houston. He wanted her to stay just so that he could see her every day, whether she was his or not.

"I care for him too," said Alice, very careful not to use the "l" word around Carlisle and Esme. She didn't want Jasper hearing it either, she knew she'd have to stay then. "But I have to put my family before anything else."

"You will come back though, won't you?" asked Esme. "At least for a visit?"

"I might come back and visit," said Alice. "But I doubt I'll ever be able to spend extended periods of time here again."

"Are you absolute sure about this, Alice?" asked Carlisle. "If you are, I'll buy you a plane ticket."

Despite every inner voice telling her not to, Alice nodded her head and said, "yes. Yes I am. I need to go home."

Carlisle sighed in defeat and said, "then let's get you home."

He turned back to his computer and began searching for a plane that would get her back to Chicago. Tears began to fall down Esme's face as she looked at Alice. Finally, Alice couldn't take it anymore. She dashed out of the room and ran all the way back up to her room, nearly bowling over Jasper in the process. He had been standing at the door of Carlisle's study for several minutes with his ear pressed against the door, something he'd normally never do. But he was willing to make an exception in this instance if it meant he got to keep seeing the only girl he'd ever really loved. But when he heard her say that she was going back, he felt his heart shatter as though it was as fragile as a piece of brittle glass.

"No," he whispered. "No, no, no, she can't do this." The instant he saw the direction she was running, he ran after her and managed to get to the door of her room before she could slam it in his face. He stuck his hand in between the door and the frame before it could close all the way and threw his shoulder against the door, forcing it back open. You had to say this for Jasper, he may not have been as big as Emmett, but he was still strong enough to break in a door if he needed to.

"Leave me alone, Jasper," said Alice, in a much stronger voice than she thought she'd be able to muster under the circumstances.

"No Alice, I won't leave you alone," said Jasper harshly. "I can't let you make this mistake."

"How do you know it's a mistake?"

"Edward, Carlisle, Esme, they all said it, Alice. You've been given a chance to rebuild your life and look what you're doing with it. You're giving it up and going back to the life you had with your mother. From what it sounds like, you wanted to get away more than anything and now you're going against that."

"I didn't plan to leave like weeks in advance. I mean, I only made the decision to go the night before I left. Why do you think I was such a nervous wreck on the plane to Seattle? I hadn't ever been outside the city, it was my first time on a plane and I had no idea where I was going to go or where I'd end up. It was out of sheer luck that you were sitting beside me on that plane."

Jasper had never been one to believe in fate, but now he was willing to bet anything he owned that destiny had brought him and Alice together and he wasn't about to go against the Fates by letting her go now. "Luck maybe, but you were meant to come to us, Alice. You can't just leave now. You're a part of this family."

"I wish that were true, Jasper," she said sadly. "I really do."

"It is true, why won't you see that?" he asked her angrily. He was starting to get more and more desperate for an argument to make her stay. Where were the others when he needed them? Rosalie, Bella, Edward and Emmett could each come up with an argument to make her stay, but considering how Carlisle and Esme's arguments hadn't done an ounce of good, he doubted any of the others would be able to persuade her to stay either. He knew one thing that might make her stay. The question was did he have the courage to say it?

"No matter how much I pretend to be, I'm not a member of this family," said Alice. "My name is Brandon, not Cullen. I'm not related to any of you, how you all can see me as part of the family after knowing me for so little time is beyond me."

"Alice, none of us are related except for Rosalie and I. The reason we're all a family is because Carlisle and Esme love us all so much. You heard them say it this morning, they think of you as their daughter. Edward and Emmett think of you as the sister they never had. Bella and Rosalie aren't friends with very many girls around here. We all need you here Alice. I need you here."

He'd said the second worst thing that would make her regret her decision. The absolute worst thing would be if he said he loved her, which she was sure he meant. She tried desperately to hold her tears back as she said, "please don't Jasper."

"Why not?" he asked. "Do you want me to lie and tell you that I don't want you to stay?"

"It's not that," she replied. "I don't you want to tell me the real reason you want me to stay."

"How do you know what the real reason is?"

"I can't for sure, but whatever it will probably make me stay and I can't. Jasper, I _have_ to go back."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do. It's like I said to Carlisle and Esme. I have an obligation to my mother, at least to go back and see if she's all right. I don't know when I'll be back or if I'll ever be back. I'll keep in touch, but it's likely we aren't going to see other again, so please don't say another word and just get out!"

Jasper remained silent for a few minutes, just looking at her, obviously hurt. Pain resonated from every little bit of his face, but his eyes were the worst. Alice turned away from him, not able to stand the look he was giving her. Finally, she heard him turn around and leave the room, shutting the door behind him. She couldn't help herself then. She collapsed onto her bed and sobbed harder than she'd ever sobbed before, harder than when her father left her, harder than when her mother hit her. She'd hurt the one man she loved more than anything.

"He's never going to forgive me for this," she whispered into her pillow. "I've ruined my chance at love. But it's too late to fix it now. I've already told Carlisle I have to go back."

A knock on her door jerked her out of her reverie. "Who is it?" she called in a choked voice.

"It's Carlisle, can I come in?"

"Sure," she croaked out, not looking up from the pillow.

Carlisle came in, took one look at her and sighed. He crossed the room in four strides, sat down next to her and said, "I got you an afternoon flight back to Chicago. It's not too late you know. If at any point you change your mind, I'll cancel the ticket."

"It _is_ too late, Carlisle," sobbed Alice. "After what I just said to Jasper, there's no way I can stay here now. I can't even bear to look at him and I'm not sure he wants to look at me."

"I heard what you two said to each other and let me tell you, there's nothing that a little talk after you've both cooled down won't solve," said Carlisle.

"A little talk won't fix this," whimpered Alice. "You should've seen the look on his face."

"He isn't mad at you. Jasper doesn't get mad easily," said Carlisle. "He's like the rest of us, upset that you're going away."

"Please Carlisle, I can't deal with this right now." Carlisle nodded and left the room, pausing the hallway to look back at her before shutting the door. As it clicked into place, he could hear her beginning to cry again and he could also hear the sounds of crying coming from Jasper's room as well.

"Tell her, Jasper," whispered Carlisle. "Tell her while you still have a chance."

Alice didn't leave her room for the rest of that day and night. When Esme came up to ask her if she wanted dinner, she didn't even answer. From what it sounded like, Jasper didn't go to dinner either. She just laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking of what she was about to do. Finally, she got up and began packing her things into a small suitcase she found in the closet. All of her clothes at the Cullen mansion fit inside it and she was sure she'd be able to get the rest of her things back in her duffel bag.

Early that next morning, everyone went over to the Hale residence together. Alice, Bella and Rosalie packed the last of Alice's things together, each of them staying silent, afraid that their voices would break if they talked. When everything was packed and ready, her bags were loaded into the trunk of Carlisle's Mercedes and it was time to say goodbye.

Emmett and Edward each gave her a hug and Emmett said, "be careful little pixie."

"Bye Emmett," said Alice, trying hard to smile at her enormous big brother.

"Don't forget about us Alice," said Edward. "We'll all miss you."

"I'll miss you guys too," said Alice, and she couldn't help but give a tear as she said goodbye to her second older brother.

Bella wrapped her arms tightly around Alice and said, "you have all our cell phone numbers and email addresses, so use them, okay? We don't want to lose touch with you."

"We won't lose touch, Bella. We'll still talk to each other all the time." Bella just nodded.

Rosalie walked up to Alice and said quite bluntly, "you're making a mistake."

"Rosalie," said Edward sharply.

"What?" she asked, turning to glare at him. "I'm just telling it like it is."

Edward shook his head and muttered something that sounded like, "needs to stop being so mouthy."

Rosalie rolled her eyes at him, then turned back to Alice. "Just do as Bella said and call us, okay?"

"I will," said Alice, reaching up to hug Rosalie as well.

It was time for the goodbye she was dreading the most. She turned to face Jasper, who was looking anywhere but directly at her. There was an awkward silence for a moment, then Jasper finally turned his face to meet hers. His eyes were red and bloodshot and there was just a dead look in them. He took a shaky breath and said, "take care of yourself, Alice."

"Yeah, you too," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Jasper hesitated for a moment, and then, knowing it was the last chance he'd ever get to do so, he leaned down and gave her a small peck on the lips. She pulled away just after their lips had touched and took one last look at him before whispering, "goodbye Jasper."

"Goodbye Alice," he whispered back.

She got in the backseat of the car, Carlisle and Esme climbed in upfront and she tried hard not to cry as the engine roared to life. Carlisle backed out of the driveway and she waved to her four friends, wondering if fate would ever bring them together again. As they turned the corner, she took one last look at Jasper, his miserable face the last thing she would remember about Forks.

The drive to Seattle was spent in silence. Alice didn't want to speak to either Carlisle or Esme; she knew what both of them would say. When they got to the airport in Seattle, Carlisle carried her bags in for her and they got the suitcase checked and got her boarding pass. The three of them walked together as far as the first security checkpoint, then stopped to say their last goodbyes.

Esme reached over and gave Alice a large hug, a kiss on the cheek and said, "don't forget, if you ever want to come back at any time, we're just a phone call away. Please come and visit us. I know we'll all like that, especially Jasper."

"I will Esme, thank you for everything," said Alice. "Thank you for letting me stay with you, thank you for letting me into your lives, thank you both so much for everything you've done for me."

"Anytime Alice, anytime at all," said Esme and she couldn't stop the tears that now were cascading down her face.

Carlisle then did the same as Esme, hugged Alice and kissed her on the cheek, and for one moment, Alice truly thought he was her father. His embrace held all the affection that a fatherly embrace should, affection that she had never really felt from her own father. But when he pulled away from her, reality hit her like waves crashing upon the rocks and a tear slid down her cheek.

"Just remember, you're part of this family now and you always will be," he said. "And if you need our help for any reason at all, we'll come out there and give it, all of us. Never forget that, Alice."

"I won't," she said, swearing to herself that she'd always remember her unofficial family in Forks and how they took such good care of her even when they didn't have to. She remembered the night before her date, only four days ago, when she'd asked Jasper how the name Alice Cullen sounded. She wished more than anything else that it was her name, but she knew she shouldn't think like that anymore.

She got a place in line and made her way slowly up to the security gate. Once she was through it, she turned to look once more at Carlisle and Esme. They hadn't moved an inch. They were standing there gazing after her and she knew both were wishing that she would run back through the gate and ask them to take her back to Forks. But she knew she couldn't do that. She waved at them and they waved back before she turned around and proceeded to find her gate.

The plane ride back to Chicago was the worst thing she'd ever had to sit through. It seemed to drag on and on, not like the plane ride coming over to Seattle where she'd chatted with Jasper the entire four hours. All she could think of was the look on Jasper's face as she said goodbye to him and how she wished she could do something to erase that look from her mind. But every time she shut her eyes, his anguished face appeared before her closed lids.

It was late in the evening by the time they reached Chicago. She made her way as quickly as she could to baggage claim, got her suitcase and managed to get a taxi outside. The taxi ride, if possible, was even more excruciating than the plane ride. But that was only because of the song that was playing on the radio.

_The moonlight dances among the trees,_

_The campfire glows in the autumn breeze._

_And I am lost in my thoughts of you._

_Remember me, recuerdame._

_A comrade strums on a sad guitar,_

_My mind is drifting to where you are._

_I'm holding you as I used to do._

_Remember me, recuerdame, mi amor._

_So long ago, so far away, each night I pray,_

_Volvero los dias passoados._

_I promise you that come what may,_

_Those days will stay ever in my memory._

_In all this world, I could never find,_

_The love that I had to leave behind._

_But duty calls, so whate'er befalls,_

_Remember me, recuerdame, mi amor._

_God only knows what tomorrow brings._

_You're in my heart so my spirit sings._

_And I'll be strong just as long as you_

_Remember me, recuerdame mi amor._

Alice fought back her tears as that song reminded her just how much she missed Jasper. She swore to herself then and there that no matter what, she would never ever forget him. The smile on his face the first time he saw her, the deep tone of his voice with a slight Southern accent mixed in, the way his lips had felt on hers the first time they'd kissed, all would be embedded in her memory, never to slip away. She knew she would never find anyone quite like him and she knew she would never love anyone else the way she loved him, but she knew just as long as she remembered every little thing about him and as long as he remembered her, they would both pull through.

"I'll be okay," she whispered as the taxi pulled up in front of her house. There was a light on in the living room window. She gave the cab driver some money and he politely got her suitcase out of the trunk for her. She rolled her bags up the front walkway, but had only gotten halfway before the front door was flung open. Her mother stood there, dark next to the bright light of the foyer, but it was her all right.

"Alice!" she called into the evening.

"Hi Mom," Alice called back.

"Oh Alice," said Meredith Brandon, running down the garden path to embrace her daughter. Alice wrapped her arms around her mother, but it didn't feel the same as when Esme had hugged her. Esme's embrace had held warmth and love, no matter what the circumstances. Meredith's held love but it was as though she was only just realizing how much she loved her daughter. And Alice knew that she'd rather it was Esme hugging her upon her return home, not her actual mother.

"Don't scare me like that again," said her mother and for the first time in months, Alice detected no sign that she'd been drinking. She was looking her directly in the eye, her speech wasn't slurred and she wasn't swaying on her feet. She was stone cold sober and proud of it. "I'm so glad you're home."

"Yeah," said Alice quietly, looking up at the house. "I'm home." But as they walked back inside together, it didn't really feel like home at all.

**Author's Note:** All right, that's chapter 7 done. I know it was a sad chapter and I'm sorry for that. I almost cried when I wrote it. But don't worry, this story does have a happy ending. The next chapter is going to take place mostly in Forks, and it's going to center mostly around Bella, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme, though there are going to be little bits about everyone. And for all you Jacob lovers, he's in the next chapter. Please review when you're done reading. Stay tuned!


	8. Aftermath

**AN**: Hello everyone! So when we last left off, Alice made the decision to return to Chicago, despite all of the family begging her not to. Poor Alice! Poor Jasper! Poor everybody! Alice isn't really going to be in this chapter, just in a phone conversation she has with Bella. This chapter is mostly going to center around Jasper and Bella. It's going to show how Jasper responds to Alice leaving, how the entire family is responding to it, what they're going to do about it. And like I told you guys last time, Jacob is in this chapter if you are a Jacob fan. Don't forget to leave a review when you're done! Happy reading!

**Chapter 8: Aftermath**

The following ten days in Forks were the hardest that Bella had ever had to go through. There were few things she honestly hated and one of those things was seeing her family so broken and depressed. She, herself, was feeling remorseful at the thought of losing a very good friend and Rosalie was sad at losing a shopping buddy. They were handling things the way they normally did when they were depressed however. Bella was just looking down at the floor, trying hard not to shed a tear as she thought of her friend trapped in her home in Chicago. Every time her father tried to get her to talk to him, she'd just ask him to leave her alone and say that she was fine.

Rosalie was acting all angry and bitchy at everyone and though she was a nice girl in general, she could be very bad-tempered when she wanted to be. She was snapping all the time at everyone and everything, which got on everyone else's nerves very quickly, especially Edward's.

Edward and Emmett were trying their hardest to move on with their lives, which was proving difficult because everyone else was moping around so much. They didn't want to move on though unless Alice was back in the family. Emmett wanted his little sister back and Edward more than anything wanted to help his family. Like Bella, he hated seeing the ones he loved so devastated. He was thinking of flying out to Chicago and bringing Alice back himself if things didn't pick up soon.

Esme had finally stopped crying about two days after Alice left, but everyone could tell she still missed her newest child. Often when she was setting the table for dinner, she'd get out an extra plate, then realize that they were minus one person and had to take it back into the kitchen, forcing back tears as she did. Carlisle tried his hardest to comfort her, but he had Alice on his thoughts as well. When he was at the hospital, he was able to go into doctor mode and focus solely on his patients, but when he arrived back at the house every evening, he became the father who couldn't do anything to relieve the pain that was pressing itself upon his family.

Jasper was the worst of them. He'd had to force himself to watch as Carlisle's Mercedes turned the corner, taking Alice away from him. He didn't want to watch her leave, but he knew if he didn't, it'd be the last glimpse he'd have of her. And when the car disappeared was when his heart completely shattered. He immediately retreated into his room at the Hale's residence and locked the door, throwing himself onto his bed and sobbing hysterically for hours. He stayed in there for two days without eating or drinking anything. Rosalie stayed at home with him for those two days, trying to get him to come out of his room and eat something, but he wouldn't.

"For God's sake, Jasper, this is ridiculous," she called through the door on the morning of the third day. "Come downstairs and eat breakfast. You have to keep your strength up." There was no sound from inside the room. This worried her. Every time she knocked she either heard the sounds of him crying or she heard him yell at her to go away. This time he didn't even react at all.

"Jasper?" she called again worriedly. "Jasper, open the door!" He didn't.

"Jasper, can you even hear me?" she called again. There was no response from inside. Frantically, she ran into her own room to get her cell phone and called Emmett.

"What is it, Rosie?" he asked.

"I need you and Edward to get over here now!" she said hurriedly. "I think Jasper's sick or hurt or something like that. He hasn't left his room, hasn't eaten or drank anything and he won't open the door. He's locked the door and if Edward can't convince him to come out, you're probably going to have to break it down."

"I can do that," said Emmett. "Don't worry, we'll be there in ten minutes, maybe less."

Rosalie didn't want to think about how fast they'd be going to get there in less than ten minutes, but she had a feeling it'd be a speed neither Bella nor her police chief father would approve of. The Cullen brothers got there in record time, seven minutes. The three of them immediately went upstairs to Jasper's room and Edward pounded on the door.

"Jasper, open up!" he commanded, sounding more like a sergeant than anything else. "This has gone far enough, you have to eat something." No sound came from within the room. Edward sighed and said, "I was so hoping it wouldn't come to this." He stood back from the door and guided Rosalie a few steps away from it as well. Emmett took his position in front of the door, then ran at it and threw his shoulder against it, putting all his weight behind it. The door immediately caved, admitting the three of them into the room.

"Oh my god," whispered Rosalie, staring wide-eyed at her brother.

Jasper was lying on his left side on the bed, staring straight ahead at a point on the wall and it wasn't hard to see why. On the other side of that wall was Alice's room. He didn't seem to have heard them at all. His physical appearance was the worst any of them had ever seen. His hair was disheveled and messy, his face was as pale as marble and there were large, dark smudges under his eyes. It appeared as though he hadn't slept either. Emmett walked over to him, grabbed his shoulder and shook him, but Jasper didn't respond.

"Jazz?" asked Emmett, starting to get concerned as well. He shook him again, this time a little harder, but Jasper still didn't respond.

Edward knelt down in front of his friend and snapped his fingers twice in front of Jasper's eyes. That evoked something of a reaction. Jasper blinked once and stared at Edward as though just realizing he was there.

"When did you get here? How'd you get in?" asked Jasper, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"That's it," said Rosalie. "Jasper, get up and get downstairs. You need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry, leave me alone," said Jasper, letting his head fall back against the pillow, his eyes returning to the spot on the wall he'd been staring at before. Edward and Emmett glanced at each other and knew what had to be done if they were going to get him to eat. Emmett sighed and grabbed Jasper roughly by the shoulders.

"What are you doing?" said Jasper, struggling against his friend's hold, but Emmett was much stronger than he was. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself slung over Emmett's shoulder, held in place by one of Emmett's large arms.

"Emmett, put me down!" said Jasper angrily, still fighting to get free.

"Not a chance, Jazz," said Emmett in an annoyed voice. He started to carry Jasper downstairs, Edward right behind him. Rosalie had already dashed down to the kitchen to put leftovers from dinner the previous night in the microwave. "You're going to eat."

"You're just hurting yourself staying locked in your room like that and we're not going to let it continue," said Edward, just as annoyed as Emmett was. "We'll force food down your throat if we have to, but you're not going to starve yourself."

When they got to the kitchen, they found Rosalie setting a plate of chicken down at the table, a glass of water and a knife and fork beside it. She looked up as they came in and watched as Emmett sat Jasper down in a chair in front of the food.

"Eat up," she said scathingly to him. Jasper just looked away and crossed his arms.

"Jasper, you Texas mule," said Edward. "Are we going to have to force feed you that meal?" Jasper didn't answer. He just started to stand up to go back upstairs. Suddenly, he felt Emmett's hands wrap around his arms, holding him down in the chair.

"Let go, Emmett," growled Jasper, trying to get up again. He wasn't even able to move an inch this time.

Rosalie sighed, forked a piece of chicken and said, "don't make me spoon-feed you, Jasper. We're not four years old, but you sure as hell are acting like it. Now feeding you like this is really going to piss me off, so start acting your age and eat your meal."

"I told you," said Jasper in a low, angry voice. "I'm not…"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before Rosalie forced the chicken into his mouth. He coughed as he felt it go down the wrong way, but once his airways cleared, he swallowed it right. He knew if he spit it out Rosalie would have had a fit.

"Now was that so hard?" she asked mockingly.

"Don't patronize me, Rose," he snarled at her.

"Aww," said Rosalie in fake disappointment. "And I was going to have such a good time making fun of you for this."

"Sorry to spoil your fun…" began Jasper, but he was cut off by Edward forcing some bread in his mouth. Since he wasn't completely taken by surprise, he didn't choke on it this time, but he wasn't exactly happy about the situation either.

"All right," he said after he'd swallowed it. "If I eat on my own, will you guys get off my back?"

"Probably not," said Emmett. "But eat anyway."

Jasper sighed and reached for the knife and fork. Emmett let go of his arms so that he'd be able to eat properly and he, Rosalie and Edward stood over Jasper, making sure he ate every single bite of his meal. When he was finished, he got back up to go back to his room, then remembered that he no longer had a door.

He sighed and said, "Emmett, are you planning on fixing my door?"

"I will later," was the reply. "Right now, I think we should all go back to our place."

"I don't feel like going anywhere," muttered Jasper.

"Jasper, you have to get out of this house," said Edward. It was just now that he realized also that his friend was still wearing the jeans and shirt that he'd been wearing the day Alice left. It seemed as though Jasper had gotten in one position and stayed there without moving for the entire two days.

Rosalie apparently just now noticed this too. "Oh God, have you even taken a shower?" she asked. Jasper didn't answer. Rose gave a noise of disapproval and said, "go upstairs, get cleaned up and changed and then we're going over to the Cullen's place."

Again, he didn't answer her. He just looked sadly at her and went back upstairs. Since the door was busted, they could clearly hear the shower running.

"He looks awful," said Emmett bluntly, once his friend was out of earshot.

"Yeah he does," said Edward. "I can't imagine how much he misses Alice if he's in that state because of her."

"We have to get her back," said Rosalie. "We have to find a way to get her back."

"I don't think there's much chance of that happening," said Edward sadly. "You keep forgetting Rose, she isn't technically Carlisle and Esme's daughter. She has a mother back in Chicago and her place is there."

"Her place is here with us," argued Rosalie. "Can't you see what her leaving has done to us?"

"Yes I can," Edward argued back. "But I don't see what we can do."

"We have to talk to Carlisle and Esme. Surely there's something they can do."

"Its wishful thinking, Rosie," said Emmett. "We all want her back, but its wishful thinking."

Rosalie didn't have time to argue any further for Jasper came downstairs a few minutes later. He looked a little better. His skin was flushed from the hot water, his hair was combed and he had clean clothes on, but his face was still dead-looking. He just walked into the garage and got in the passenger's seat of Rosalie's BMW. She followed him out there and got in the driver's seat. Edward and Emmett climbed into Edward's Volvo and led the way back to the Cullen mansion. The ride there was spent in silence and Rosalie knew that Jasper was reliving the first time they'd driven Alice there to meet the rest of the family.

When they arrived, Rosalie pulled into the garage next to Emmett's Jeep Wrangler and cut the engine off. Jasper got out of the car and drifted lifelessly into the house. Edward, Emmett and Rosalie followed him, gazing after him worriedly. Suddenly, a thought struck Edward. What would Esme say when she saw her son?

When they entered the kitchen, Esme looked up at them and nearly burst into tears when she saw Jasper's face. She walked briskly over to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, but he didn't even acknowledge her. He just pulled away from her and went straight upstairs to his room. He knew there was no chance of Emmett breaking down a door here; Carlisle would ground him from playing video games for a month.

"Poor Jasper," said Esme as she watched him disappear up the stairs.

"We're going to have to watch him," said Edward. "I'm afraid he'll do something stupid."

"Stupid, like what?" asked Esme cautiously. Edward just looked meaningfully at her and she hung her head before quickly busying herself with making food for that night. She didn't want to think about whether or not Jasper might hurt himself. The rest of them went into the living room and tried to watch whatever program was on TV, but none really concentrated on it.

The next week proceeded in the same way. While the others were starting to move on, Jasper hardly left his room. Esme left food in front of his door three times a day, each time asking if he wanted to come downstairs, but he didn't. The only reassurance she got was that he was eating well, for whenever she came back upstairs, the food was all gone. The first couple times, she searched around the flower patch under his window to see if he'd thrown any of it out, but when she didn't see any food, she breathed a deep sigh of relief at the knowledge that he was getting enough to eat.

Bella came over every day, but not once did she see hide nor hair of Jasper. Finally, eight days after Alice had left, she went upstairs to check on him. She'd wanted to go sooner, but Edward had always advised her against it. He'd tried checking on Jasper numerous times and each time, Jasper had always told him to go away.

"He might open up to me," she argued with him. "He just might talk to me."

"Why would he?" asked Edward.

"Remember the day we met him and Rosalie?" Edward nodded. "That day, I was the first one who approached Jasper in just a friendly manner, not an overly curious one. I was the only one he talked to for the first day or so, then he opened up to you and Emmett. Jasper trusts me more than he does Rosalie, he'll talk to me more readily than he will to her. I'm more of a sister to him than she is. I think it's because of the tough girl attitude she has. She's not exactly easy to talk to, particularly not this last week."

"You've got a point there," said Edward. "All right, go upstairs and see what you can do."

Bella gave him a small kiss on the lips before heading for the stairs. When she got to Jasper's room, she paused a minute, took a deep breath, then knocked softly on the door. There was no answer. She knocked again and said, "Jasper, it's Bella. Can I come in?"

She heard a raspy voice croak out, "yes," and she entered the room.

"Oh Jasper," she whispered when she saw him. He was lying on his bed staring at the wall that separated Alice's old room from his, just as he had done earlier in the week. His face was a little bit fuller which showed he'd been eating, but there were still dark circles under his eyes. She went and sat down beside him and reached up to brush a few strands of his unruly hair out of his face.

He rolled over so he was facing her and asked, "what do you want?"

"I wanted to check on you. I haven't seen you in days."

"I don't want to see anyone, Bella," he said quietly. He sat up and looked Bella in the eye as he said these next words. "Everything in this house and Rose's and my house reminds of Alice now. I can't even look at my motorcycle anymore because it reminds me of when I took her to Port Angeles on it. I can't go to sleep because every time I close my eyes, I see her face smiling at me. I can't get her out of my head, Bells."

"I know it's hard, but sooner or later, you're going to have move on."

"I can't move on." And here, Jasper's voice began to break a little bit as though he was fighting the urge to break down. "I loved her, Bella. I've never felt this way about anyone else. The first time I saw Alice, I felt my heart collide to a stop when I saw how beautiful she was. As I got to know her, I could see how broken she was on the inside and I wanted more than anything to help her, to hold her and be her shoulder to cry on. She's the one, Bella. She's the one and now I'll never see her again."

"You _will_ see her again," said Bella confidently. "I know you will."

"No I won't," said Jasper sadly. "She isn't coming back. She's going to spend the next few years of her life taking care of her mother, then she's going to try and make her own way into the world and I doubt she'll come back here to do it. None of us are ever going to see her again."

Bella hated the way Jasper was saying that. He was so sure that Alice would never reappear in his life. He felt so hopeless, so dejected, so miserable and it was radiating off of him and onto her. She looked for some argument that would convince him otherwise, but that was about as easy as convincing Alice to stay in Forks.

"Please go away, Bella," said Jasper sadly, leaning back onto the pillow. "Please go away."

"If you need anything, tell me," said Bella sadly. She leaned down and kissed Jasper on the forehead, before getting up and leaving the room. Edward was waiting for her just outside the door. He didn't say anything. He just put his arm around her and guided her back downstairs to his room.

"What do you think?" he asked, once they were safely inside his room.

"We have to do something, Edward," she said. "He isn't going to come out of this on his own and if he stays this way for much longer, I fear the worst."

"I do too," said Edward. "He's started eating better but it's not enough. He needs her."

"Yeah he does. Is there any way we can convince Carlisle to fly out to Chicago and get her."

"He'd do it in an instant, but he isn't going to unless Alice wants to come back."

"What do you mean?"

"He only let Alice go because she said it was her duty to go back. He asked her if she truly wanted to go and it was obvious to all of us that she didn't, but she wasn't going to quit unless he let her go back."

"Where does that leave us then?" asked Bella.

"I don't know," said Edward. "I'm wondering whether or not I should call her and check on her, but I'm not sure she wants to be disturbed. She's trying to repair her relationship with her mother after all. She probably needs a few days to adjust to being back over there as opposed to here with us."

Bella nodded but still hated the situation she and her family were in. She got home that night, made dinner for her father and went to bed as she normally did, but it took a long time for her to fall asleep. The next morning, she laid in bed and wondered what she was going to do about the position she was in. The sight of Jasper yesterday and the talk with him had shown her the full gravity of the situation and she knew she was going to have take matters into her own hands, but she didn't know how.

What she really needed was someone to talk to. Not just anyone. She needed a third party she could pour her heart out to and get advice. She thought about Angela for a minute. Not only was she very patient and kind, but very clever and observant. She'd know what to do. But then she remembered that Angela was out of town for the week, visiting relatives in Portland. She thought about who else she could go to, then slapped herself on the forehead for not thinking of him sooner. Jacob! She could always talk to Jacob about anything and he'd always listen.

Quickly she got dressed and ran downstairs, hopping into her truck and starting it up. The engine came to life with a loud roar and she sighed. She loved her truck dearly, but she didn't like how noisy it was. Edward had offered to buy her a nicer car many times, but she had always refused. One thing about Edward was that he didn't like that she spent a good bit of time with Jacob as well.

"Honestly, can't I be friends with a guy and not be in a relationship with him?" Bella had asked him on more than one occasion. Edward had always been jealous of Bella's friendship with Jacob, mostly because when Bella moved back here, Jacob and his father, Billy Black were the first people to greet her. Charlie had also bought the truck from them so that she could drive it. Jacob had even rebuilt the engine for her. He was always doing that.

She made her way down the forest roads that lead out to La Push and parked in front of the Black's house. Billy was sitting on the front porch in his wheelchair, enjoying one of few sunny days by sitting out there with a book. He looked up and smiled as he heard the sound of his old truck coming down the path.

"Hello Bella," he said when she'd stepped out into the open air.

"Hey Billy," she replied. "How're you doing?"

"As well as can be expected being cooped in this thing day in and day out," said Billy. "And what about you?"

"I'm fine," said Bella, but she was praying that her voice wouldn't crack and show that she wasn't fine. Quickly composing herself, she asked, "is Jacob here?"

"He's out in the garage with his friends," said Billy, giving her a look that said plainly, "where else would he be?"

"Thanks," she said and headed out for the garage. As she approached, she heard voices drifting out from it and recognized them as Jacob's two friends, Quil and Embry. When she got to the open garage door, she saw Quil sitting on a desk chair against the wall, Embry standing next to him and Jacob messing around under the hood of his new car.

"Hello," she called out to them. Jacob's head popped out from under the head and he smiled when he saw his best friend there.

"Bella," he said cheerfully, wiping his hands on an old rag and shaking his long hair out of his face. He came up to give her a hug and said, "I haven't seen you in awhile. What brings you out here?"

"You obviously, Jake," broke in Quil teasingly.

"Yeah, she must be so desperate to see you that she just couldn't wait," said Embry.

"Quit exaggerating you two and get lost," said Jacob, rolling his eyes at the pair of them. The two Quiluete boys just shook their heads at him and headed for home. He turned back to Bella and said, "now before those two butted in, what were you going to say?"

"Do you want to go for a walk?" asked Bella. "I want to talk to you."

He just nodded and said, "okay," before getting his coat and heading down to the beach with her. As they walked, Bella explained the entire situation with Alice and how helpless she felt. Jacob didn't make any sort of comment. He just listened and let Bella talk until she couldn't talk anymore. They sat down on a log in the middle of the beach and there was a moment of silence before Jake decided to speak.

"Have you spoken to her since she left? Have you thought about calling her?"

"I haven't called her yet. I want to, but I'm not sure if now's a good time."

"The situation with her mom, you mean?"

"Yeah, exactly. She's trying to get her life back in gear and I don't want to interfere."

"You won't be interfering. You'll just be calling to see if she's all right."

"Do you think if I call her she'll tell me she wants to come back?"

Jacob shrugged and said, "Maybe she will, I don't know. What happens if she does?"

"If she does, then I'll go and talk to Carlisle and he'll go out there and get her."

"And if she wants to stay out there?"

"Then all of us, especially Jasper, are going to have to find a way to live with it."

"You don't want to live with it though, do you?" he asked, placing a hand on Bella's shoulder.

"In the short time she was here, Jake, she grew to be my sister," said Bella. "I'm only friends with the Cullen's and with you. I need more people to hang out with and she came along and she was wonderful. We all want our sister back, Carlisle and Esme want their daughter back, and Jasper wants the love of his life back."

Jacob looked down at the ground when she said that, hiding the fact that he was blushing. "He's not the only one," he thought to himself, sneaking a sideways glance at Bella. He'd been in love with her ever since she moved to Forks, but Edward had gotten there first.

"What is it?" asked Bella, looking concernedly over at him. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," said Jake convincingly, turning to look at her. "I say you call her, Bells."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, call her and see how she's doing. After you get off the phone, then decide where to go from there. Go talk to Carlisle and get his opinion. Everything's going to be fine, I know it."

"Thanks Jacob," said Bella, reaching over to give him a hug. He returned it, wishing it was more than just a friendly hug, but knowing it probably never would be. He walked her back to her truck and waved her goodbye, before going back into the garage and finding the only solace he could in working on his car.

Bella rode back to her house and locked herself in her room with her cell phone. She sat back on her bed, dialed Alice's number and waited for her call to be answered.

"Hey Bella," came Alice's voice from the other end.

"Hey Alice, you haven't called, I was wondering if you were doing all right."

"I'm okay," said Alice, but Bella could tell even from over the phone that she didn't mean it. "My mom's doing really well. She's stopped drinking for the most part. She's in rehab most days trying to get off her addiction. Sometimes I still catch her with a bottle of liquor though."

"What have you been up to?"

"Mostly trying to support us. I got a couple of jobs out here and they pay the bills, so I'm working to keep the house and to pay for rehab. One of my mom's friends is helping with that too."

"Are you going to be able to finish your last year of high school?" asked Bella.

"I don't know," said Alice truthfully. "It's doubtful at this point, though I'd really like to."

"We really miss you over here," said Bella. "Jasper hasn't been the same since you left."

"How's he been?"

"You'd have to see it to believe it. He won't leave his room and he won't talk to any of us. Esme leaves food for him outside his door and he does eat it, but he misses you so much. I talked to him yesterday, he was pining for you."

Bella heard her friend gasp on the other end, then heard Alice say, "I know what you mean. I haven't been able to get him out of my mind either. I miss him, I miss you all so much."

"Unless you're too busy, do you think maybe Edward and I could come see you in a few weeks?"

"I'd love that," said Alice and Bella could tell that she meant it. "But there's something else I'd love even more."

"What's that?"

"I miss you, I miss the Cullen's, I miss Forks. I want to come back, but I can't."

"Of course you can. You can come anytime."

"No I can't, Bella. My mother needs me and besides, it's like I'd be taking the Cullen's for granted."

"Edward already told you that you wouldn't be," said Bella, who even though her voice didn't show it, was the happiest she'd been in ten days. "Carlisle will come out there and get you if you want him to."

"As much as I'd like that to happen, I have to stay here and help Mom," said Alice. "But I'd love to come back soon. I sometimes wish I had stayed, but it's too late to do anything about it."

"Oh contraire," said Bella silently. Then aloud, "Well if you're sure you have to stay."

"I am, but it's been really nice talking to you Bella."

"Take care of yourself Alice. Call me soon and fill me in."

"I will. Talk to you later. Bye."

Bella had to work very hard not to burst out screaming with joy as she hung up the phone. Alice didn't want to stay in Chicago, she wanted to be back in Forks with the rest of them. She quickly got her keys, barreled down the stairs, for once not managing to trip on the way down and climbed into her truck. She drove as quickly as her truck would allow, which wasn't very quickly, to the hospital thinking all the while that maybe she should take Edward up on that offer for a new car.

When she got to the hospital, she went straight to Carlisle's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she heard from inside.

"Hey Carlisle," she said when she opened the door.

"Bella, hello," he said, looking up from his papers. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, but I need to talk to you for a few minutes."

"Come in, I have some time before I have to go on my rounds."

She sat down in a chair across from him and said, "it's about Alice. I've just gotten off the phone with her."

"Is she all right?"

"She's fine, but she said something that I think I need to tell you." Carlisle leaned forward interestedly, an idea already forming in his head over what it might be.

--------------

Esme walked up the stairs with a late lunch for Jasper on a tray. She'd barely seen her son in the days since Alice left. He'd just kept to his room and didn't want anyone coming. But if he let Bella in the day before, maybe he'd let her in.

"Jasper, I've brought some lunch for you," she called through the door and knocking softly.

"Just leave it there," Jasper called back in a hoarse, tired voice.

"Please sweetie, can't I come in?"

"I guess so," he said, though she knew he'd rather be left alone.

She softly opened the door, put his food down on the bedside table and sat down next to him. He was lying on his side, staring at the wall like he had been doing these last few days. She brushed Jasper's hair out of his eyes so that she could look properly at him.

"I miss her so much, Esme," he said quietly. "I miss her so much, it hurts."

"I know, I know it does," she whispered, continuing to run her fingers through his blonde curls.

"I should've told her, then maybe, just maybe she would've stayed. I should've told her how much I love her."

That did it. Hearing it from Jasper made her adamant about it, they had to get Alice back. She didn't care what they had to do, but they had to get her back. After making sure Jasper would be all right, she went downstairs to the phone in the kitchen. However, as she was reaching for the receiver, it began to ring, beating her to the punch.

"If that's my husband, it'll be the coincidence of the year, particularly if he wants to talk about what I want to talk about." She picked up the phone, pressed the talk button and said, "hello?"

"Hello darling," said Carlisle on the other end.

"Hello dear," said Esme, smiling slightly. "Is everything all right?"

"I was wondering if you could meet me for lunch," replied Carlisle. "There's something we need to discuss."

"Does this something have short, black hair and stand at about five feet?"

"You guessed right. Would you be willing to eat the food they serve in the cafeteria? I don't have enough time to take you someplace nice today."

"It's not the best food in the world, but if it's for you, I'll eat it."

"Good. Can you be here in fifteen minutes?"

-----------

Esme loved it when she got to drive Edward's Volvo. It was a reliable little car, got her wherever she needed to go in record time and allowed her to arrive in style. She understood why Edward loved it so much. She pulled up in front of the hospital in ten minutes exactly. Carlisle was waiting for her out front, smiling to see her arrive so promptly. She walked quickly up to him and kissed him, both glad to have the other. They walked together to the cafeteria, got their food and sat down. Carlisle initiated the conversation.

"The reason I called is Bella came to see me about half an hour ago," he said. "Apparently, she'd been down to La Push to see Jacob Black." Esme had to give a small smile at that. Bella and Jacob were such good friends, it was cute to see. It was also cute how Edward would get so jealous whenever Jacob was mentioned. Carlisle continued, "she told him about Alice and he finally said just to call her. And she did."

"What did she say?" asked Esme, leaning forward interestedly.

"She said what we've been hoping for. Alice misses us, all of us. She wants to come back."

Esme squealed delightedly and clapped her hands. This was the best news she'd heard in weeks. "So when can we go and get her?" she asked excitedly.

"I'm working on it," said Carlisle. "I'm hoping to get us plane tickets for the day after tomorrow. I have to get someone to fill in for me while we're gone. But there's a catch, darling."

Esme's face fell. She hated it when someone said there was a catch. "What is it?" she asked.

"Alice isn't coming back on her own because she doesn't think she can. She doesn't want to come back and feel like she's using us to get someplace in the world."

"That's ridiculous!"

"I know it is, so we're going to have to go out there together, prepared to convince her that we want to welcome her back with open arms. The other catch is her mother."

"I'd forgotten about that," said Esme. "Do you think her mother will give her up?"

"I doubt she'll let her go lightly," said Carlisle. "If she loves Alice enough, she'll let her go and make something of herself. Alice has no future in that place and they both know that. We can give her a future if she's willing to take it. If we can get her mother to see that, then she might let her come back with us."

"Should we tell the Jasper and the others about this?" asked Esme.

"I say we just tell Bella and Edward, leave it a surprise for the others," said Carlisle.

"Why?"

"We can't just disappear for a few days to some place unknown to them. It'd look like we were deserting them when they need us, so we need to tell one of them. Bella seems to be the most obvious one to tell, simply because she would probably guess where we were going. She asked if we could bring her along, but I told her she needed to stay here and look after Jasper."

"Good idea," said Esme. "She's the only one he'll talk to right now."

"Bella can keep a secret from just about everyone except Edward," continued Carlisle. "If we asked, he'd probably offer to come out there with us. But while Bella and Rosalie take care of Jasper, someone has to stay to keep Emmett in line." Esme laughed. She loved her son, but he could get rowdy at times.

"Shouldn't we tell Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper though?" she asked, once she'd calmed down.

"I want it to be a surprise for Emmett and Rosalie just to see the looks on their faces, and besides, I don't want to bring down too many hopes in case we can't get Alice to come back. And it's for that reason we most certainly will not tell Jasper. If he gets his hopes up only to find that Alice refused us, there's no telling what he might do."

"Why don't we take him with us?" asked Esme. "That way we could keep an eye on him and he could help us convince Alice to come back. We'll tell the others where we're going and they can hold down the fort here."

"We could do that," said Carlisle thoughtfully. "She might be more willing to come with us if she sees Jasper there as well. I think you're right. We should take him with us."

Esme squealed again, reached across the table and kissed her husband, smiling and laughing all the while. "That's wonderful! Wait 'til I tell Jasper."

"I'll work on getting the plane tickets after I get home tonight," said Carlisle. "You go and tell the others what's going on."

"Should we tell them all or just Jasper?"

"Let's go ahead and tell them all. Bella will automatically know where we're going and sooner or later, most likely sooner, Edward will get it out of her. The fact that Jasper's going too might make it obvious to everyone that we're going to Chicago."

"So it's agreed then?" Carlisle nodded. His pager then chose that moment to go off, so he kissed his wife goodbye and went back to work. Esme drove the Volvo as fast as she dared back to the Cullen mansion and went straight upstairs to Jasper's room.

"Jasper, can I come in?" she called. She heard him give a small sound of ascent.

When Jasper saw her, he didn't know what to think. She looked happier than she had in days, which he didn't understand. This morning, she'd been miserable along with the rest of them because of Alice leaving, now she was smiling like her birthday had come early.

"Jasper," she said excitedly. "How would you like to go on a trip with Carlisle and I?"

"What kind of trip?" he asked curiously, sitting up a bit.

"We're going to Chicago," she said.

Jasper sat bolt upright when he heard the word, "Chicago." There was only one reason he could think of for them going there. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Esme. "We're going out to Chicago and hopefully when we get back, Alice will be with us. Do you want to come along?"

Jasper didn't answer. He got up and knelt down on the floor, reaching under the bed, out from which he pulled a small suitcase. He hurriedly began throwing clothes into it, not even bothering to fold them neatly. He just threw them in at random. It was the most movement he'd made in over a week.

Esme laughed and said, "slow down Jasper. We're not leaving for a couple days."

"What?" he asked, stopping to look at her.

"Carlisle has to get someone to take his place at the hospital and he has to get the plane tickets and hotel reservations," she said. "We'll be going the day after tomorrow most likely."

Jasper sighed and said, "all right." But he was in considerably brighter spirits for the rest of the day. He actually came downstairs out of his room and spent some time with the rest of the Cullen's.

"What on Earth?" said Rosalie when she saw her twin descending the stairs.

"He lives!" said Emmett joyfully, clapping his brother on the back.

"Yeah, you guys are sensitive," he said, shaking his head at them.

"What's finally brought you down out of your comatose state?" asked Edward curiously.

"You'll find out later tonight," said Esme. "We're having a family meeting."

Dinner that night was much more casual and light-hearted than it had been the previous week. Jasper ate everything in sight, only just now realizing how hungry he was. He'd only eaten because he knew Rosalie, Edward and Emmett would force it down his throat again, but he ate slowly, intermittently, so he was normally just as hungry when he finished eating as he was when he started. The others stared at him, wondering if he had gotten over Alice or if something had happened.

It turned out to be the latter. Once all the food had been cleared away, Carlisle told them all of his and Esme's plans. When he was finished, Bella and Rosalie both gave loud cheers of delight and hugged each other before turning around to hug their boyfriends, then Carlisle and Esme.

"So she's coming back?" asked Edward.

"We hope so," said Carlisle. "We're hoping she'll agree to come back with us. If we take Jasper along, she might be more willing to acquiesce."

"What if she says no?" asked Rosalie nervously.

"Don't say that, Rose. Please don't say that," said Jasper.

"I'm sorry," she said back and for once, she honestly meant it.

"Why can't we all go out there and get her?" asked Emmett. "I want to see my sister!"

"It's already going to be overwhelming for her to have the three of us turn up," said Carlisle. "We think it's better if we just keep it simple."

"If you insist," said Bella, but she was still smiling and so were Rosalie and the boys.

"Then it's settled," said Carlisle. "If you'll excuse me, I have travel logistics to work out." He went right up to his office and sat down at his computer, pulling up an Internet browser and going to an airline website. He managed to get three tickets for Chicago leaving in two days and four for the return trip.

He glanced down at some pictures on his desk as he worked. He always kept photos around his office, though his photo collection wasn't nearly as extensive as the one Esme had in her office and in the living room. The ones he had were mostly of him and Esme and the boys. There were some of Bella, Rosalie and Jasper after they'd moved to Forks. His and Esme's wedding picture had a place of honor in the middle of the rest of the others.

But three new ones had recently been added and it was these he looked at now. The first was of Alice with him, Esme, Edward and Emmett, the five Cullen's. Alice looked so happy in that picture, like she truly belonged with this family. That was why he wanted her to come back. He had begun to believe she was his daughter and he wanted more than anything to give her a home and take care of her along with the rest of his children. The second was of Alice, Rosalie and Bella, just getting back after a shopping trip, their arms laden down with bags. The three of them looked so happy and so carefree together and Carlisle knew that it was because of Alice's bubbly presence. And the last was of Alice and Jasper.

Carlisle remembered that day perfectly clearly. It was very nice out so Emmett decided they had to have a barbecue in the backyard. Rosalie and Bella were sitting on the back porch, watching the boys play football while Esme fixed some snacks in the kitchen and Carlisle grilled burgers. Alice was standing on the deck watching Jasper. Once they were seated with their food, Esme started snapping pictures all over the place. At one point, Jasper came up behind Alice and wrapped his arms around her waist, taking her by surprise. He'd picked her up and spun her once, her back pressed against his chest, his arms around her waist. Esme had snapped a picture of them quickly before Jasper put her down and it was this picture that was Carlisle's favorite. You could clearly see how much Jasper loved Alice by the look he was giving her and you could see that Alice returned his affection.

"Dear God, let them be together again," he said silently. "She's brought him to life and he was there for her when she needed him. They belong together." He booked the hotel suite and the plane tickets, hoping that Alice would be willing to come back to the place that truly was her home.

**Author's Note:** All right, that's Chapter 8 done. What did you think? When I was first planning this story, I was just going to have Carlisle go out there and get her and bring her back and only Esme would know where he had gone. But then I thought Esme had to go along as well because in order for them to adopt Alice, they'd need her signature on some documents as well as Carlisle's. And they both couldn't leave the others in the state they were in, so I had to change the story to taking Jasper out to Chicago with them. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with the next chapter yet. Give me a few days and I'll think of something. Stay tuned!


	9. Fighting for Alice

**AN**: Hello everyone! So in the last chapter, we saw the effect Alice's leaving had on the members of the Cullen family. This chapter isn't going to be as long as some of the other chapters have been, but I hope you guys like it all the same. It's going to be all about her and it's going to have the first bit of when Carlisle, Esme and Jasper come and see her. There's going to be some arguing and it does get a little bit climatic at the end. It leads right up into the next chapter, which probably will be the last chapter in the story. But I know the question you're all asking right now is will she go back to Forks with her foster parents and her true love? You'll just have to wait and find out! Happy reading!

**Chapter 9: Fighting for Alice**

The moment Alice arrived back in Chicago she regretted it. The city had held nothing but misery for her ever since her father left, which was why she had wanted to leave in the first place. Yet here she was, back where she started. Carlisle, Edward and Jasper were right. She'd been given a chance to rebuild her life and look what she'd done with it. She'd given it up to go back and take care of her mother.

"Alice, you have no common sense," she muttered to herself the night she got back as she was lying in bed, willing sleep to come to her. But she couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, Jasper's heartbroken face appeared before her shut lids, daunting, unrelenting, as though punishing her for leaving him like that. When she finally did manage to drift off to sleep, she had the worst dream she'd ever had.

_She was standing in front of the Cullen's mansion in the forest outside of Forks. She was delighted at first, glad to be back to the place she truly did consider her home, where the people she considered her family lived. She dashed into the house, hoping to be welcomed back with open arms, but the reception she did receive was nothing like what she expected._

"_Hey guys," she called out. No one answered her. "Hello?" she called out. There was no one in the living room. She wandered into the kitchen and saw that the backdoor was open. She walked out onto the back patio and saw Esme sitting on one of the deck chairs, sniffling slightly._

"_Esme," she said softly. Esme turned around to see who had spoken and she looked disbelievingly at who stood before her._

"_Alice, is that really you?" she asked incredulously._

"_Of course it's me," said Alice. "Where is everyone? What's going on?"_

"_Carlisle's at the hospital," said Esme. "Edward and Emmett are somewhere in town, but I don't know where. Bella, Rosalie and Jasper have left altogether."_

"_What do you mean left altogether?" asked Alice, tears beginning to come to her eyes._

"_Bella moved to Jacksonville to live with her mother and her stepfather. She knew they'd be on the road a good bit since he's a minor league baseball player, but she was willing to give it a shot. Rosalie has moved back to Houston, thinking she could just move on with her life there. Neither of them wanted to stay here after you left, no matter how hard Emmett and Edward argued with them to stay."_

"_And Jasper?"_

_Esme sighed. "We don't know where he is. He snuck out of his room a few nights ago and we haven't seen him since. He didn't leave a note or any sort of indication as to why he left. Some of his clothes and his most prized possessions are gone too. We found his cell phone thrown in the trash can in his and Rosalie's house. It's like he's just disappeared off the face of the earth. He may be dead, he may be anywhere."_

_Alice backed away from her foster mother, so to speak, not daring to believe what she ahd just heard. "No," whispered Alice. "No, this can't be happening."_

"_I'm sorry Alice, I'm so sorry," whispered Esme._

"_No, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm so sorry, Esme. All of this is my freaking fault!"_

_She sprinted off the porch and into the woods, taking the same path she had taken the night she tried to run away after the Cullen's found out her secret, the night she had the cold. She collapsed into a large pile of leaves and started sobbing her eyes out._

"_I can't believe this," Alice choked out in between sobs. "I single-handedly destroyed their family. I don't deserve to stay here and even try to call myself their daughter, sister or friend. Jasper, my love, why did you have to do this? Why couldn't you wait for me?"_

Alice jerked awake with a scream, tears bursting out of her eyes as she did. It took her several minutes to realize that she was in her room in her house in Chicago and not back in Forks amid a broken family. She let out a deep sigh of relief, but the tears didn't stop.

"T…thank G…god," she said brokenly.

"Alice," said a voice from the doorway. She turned to see that her mother had just entered the room and was standing in the doorway concernedly. She flipped the light switch on and went over to sit next to her daughter. "Sweetheart, what is it?"

"I d…dreamt I w…was b…b…back in F…Forks," gasped out Alice. Her mother nodded, remembering the stories she had heard earlier in the evening about Forks and the Cullen's. Alice continued, "the f…family had all b…broken ap…part and it was because I h…had l…left. It was so awful!"

"Shh, calm down, sweetie," said Meredith Brandon, wrapping her arms around her daughter. "It's all right, it was just a dream."

It took Alice a very long time to calm down. She ended up crying herself back to sleep. When she did, her mother gently laid her back in bed, pulled the covers over her and kissed her on the cheek. She turned the light out and went back to bed, actually beginning to wonder why her daughter had come back to her in the first place.

The days passed and Alice managed to get a couple of daytime jobs that would pay the bills, but wouldn't provide her with much of a future. They certainly wouldn't pay for her to finish high school, let alone college. But it was worth it if it meant her mother was getting her life back on track. One of her mother's friends, who had never approved of what she had been doing, was paying for rehab, but she didn't have enough money to pay for Alice's education, though she knew she would if she could.

"I had a future in Forks," Alice said to herself, two days after she had left. "They were right, all of them. Carlisle and Esme were willing to give me a home there, they were willing to help me finish my education, help me decide what I wanted to do with my life. Besides, I need them. I need Carlisle and Esme's unconditional, parental love, I need the brotherly and sisterly affection I got from Edward, Emmett, Rosalie and Bella, but most of all, I need Jasper. I need him to take me in his arms, hold me tight and tell me that he loves me for just being me. I should've told him how much I love him."

Every night when she went to sleep, she thought of how much she loved Jasper. During her time in Forks, she'd begun to wonder if she could bear to go through life without him. Now she was basically forcing herself to live without him and she wasn't sure how long she was going to last without seeing him.

Fortunately though, she didn't have time most of the time to think about how much she missed Forks. Her jobs kept her busy from 9:00 in the morning until 6:00 at night, and she had to work hard in order to convince her bosses that she deserved every penny they were paying her. She still had to keep an eye on her mother as well. Meredith Brandon was trying so hard to stop drinking, but every once in a while, Alice would catch her walking into her room with a bottle of alcohol in her hand.

"Mom, what do you think you're doing?" asked Alice the first time she saw her mom with a bottle of liquor, three days after she'd gotten home.

Meredith jumped and spun around, trying to hide the bottle behind her back, but the damage was done. "Darling, where'd you come from?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"I was just going to get rid of this. I found it in one of the spare rooms and thought it best to get it out of the house."

"Oh really? Are you sure you weren't going to secretly drink every drop of liquid in that thing?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Why wouldn't I after how you behaved in the months before I left?"

"Alice, that isn't fair. I don't want to be reminded of how you left me in my greatest hour of need."

"Your greatest hour of need? You weren't the one who was working around the clock trying to support us and keep your grades up. You were lying around here all day and spending every night in the nearest bar. You never once did anything to help me after Dad left. You were the one who was supposed to take up all the slack and you didn't. I wasn't able to have a life because of you! I lost all my friends here because of you! It's a wonder I was able to gain more friends in Forks and I've probably lost them all now because of you! So don't you dare to talk to me about your greatest hour of need when I'm the one who has no future and probably is going to spend the rest of her short life trying to find enough money to feed herself!"

She spun around and dashed into her room, locking the door behind her and not emerging for the rest of the day. A few minutes later, she heard the sound of glass breaking and guessed that her mother had dropped the alcohol bottle out the window and let it fall to the ground. That made her feel a little better, but not much.

"Alice," came her mother's voice from the other side of the door, followed by a soft knock. "Please sweetie, open the door."

"Go away!" Alice called back. She laid in bed for hours into the night, only leaving a little after midnight when she was sure her mother was asleep. She went down into the kitchen and made herself something to eat, being careful not to wake her mother and get a lecture about shouting at her the way she had. Alice sighed as she ate, missing Esme's delicious home-cooking and holding Jasper's hand under the table after both had finished eating.

"I miss you Jasper," she whispered. She opened the backdoor and went out into the yard, gazing up at the star-strewn sky. She did something then that she hadn't done since she was six years old. She made a wish. "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight. I wish that I'll see Jasper again someday, and when I see him I wish that I'll have the courage to tell him how much I love him."

For several days after that, there was no sign that the gods above had even heard her wish, let alone done anything to grant it. She had always been a firm believer in fate and knew that fate had brought her and Jasper together, but now it looked as though fate had decided that because she'd wasted that second chance to rebuild her life, she didn't deserve another one. The days passed and she didn't hear from anyone in Forks, nor did she call any of them. Several times she dialed their numbers and came so close to pressing the call button, but lost her nerve at the last minute.

"They probably don't want to talk to me, no matter how much Bella and Rosalie said to keep in touch," she thought to herself. "They're probably so angry with me for leaving that they don't want to talk to me anyway." She tried to fight back the tears she felt at the thought of Jasper not having anything to do with her.

Then, something happened that made her think that things were about to change. While she was on her break in between her two jobs, she got a call on her cell phone. She always kept it on in case her mother needed her for something, but she was surprised when she saw the name that flashed on the caller ID screen. It was Bella. She couldn't help but smile as she answered the phone.

"Hey Bella," she said, the pleasure evident in her voice.

"Hey Alice," came Bella's voice, and Alice also heard the relief in her friend's voice. "You haven't called, I was wondering if you were doing all right."

"I'm okay," she said, hoping that she was doing a good job at concealing the lie. "My mom's doing really well. She's stopped drinking for the most part. She's in rehab most days trying to get off her addiction. Sometimes I still catch her with a bottle of liquor though."

"What have you been up to?"

"Mostly trying to support us. I got a couple of jobs out here and they pay the bills, so I'm working to keep the house and to pay for rehab. One of my mom's friends is helping with that too."

"Are you going to be able to finish your last year of high school?" asked Bella.

"I don't know," said Alice truthfully. "It's doubtful at this point, though I'd really like to."

"We really miss you over here," said Bella. "Jasper hasn't been the same since you left."

Alice wasn't sure whether she wanted to hear how Jasper had been or not, but curiosity got the better of her and besides, she wanted to know if there was substance to that dream she'd had the first night she got back. So hesitantly, she asked, "How's he been?"

"You'd have to see it to believe it. He won't leave his room and he won't talk to any of us. Esme leaves food for him outside his door and he does eat it, but he misses you so much. I talked to him yesterday, he was pining for you."

Alice gasped as she heard what sort of condition Jasper was in, but she had to admit, it was better than hearing he'd run away and was in an unknown location, possibly sick or hurt. She replied to that with, "I know what you mean. I haven't been able to get him out of my mind either. I miss him, I miss you all so much."

"Unless you're too busy, do you think maybe Edward and I could come see you in a few weeks?"

Alice tried hard to fight back the squeal of excitement that was building up in her throat. She wanted dearly to see her brother and sister again. "I'd love that, but…" and she said the next part with a little bit of reluctance, "there's something else I'd love even more."

"What's that?" and Alice could distinctly hear eagerness in Bella's voice.

"I miss you, I miss the Cullen's, I miss Forks. I want to come back, but I can't."

"Of course you can. You can come anytime." Bella sounded more joyful than she'd had during the entire conversation. It wasn't hard to tell that something was going through Bella's head, but Alice had no way of knowing what it was.

"No I can't, Bella. My mother needs me and besides, it's like I'd be taking the Cullen's for granted."

"Edward already told you that you wouldn't be," said Bella. "Carlisle will come out there and get you if you want him to."

"As much as I'd like that to happen, I have to stay here and help Mom," said Alice. "But I'd love to come back soon. I sometimes wish I had stayed, but it's too late to do anything about it."

Bella sighed and said, "Well if you're sure you have to stay." But Alice thought she heard something sneaky in that voice and she also thought she heard Bella whisper something more to herself, but she couldn't be sure of that either.

"I am, but it's been really nice talking to you Bella."

"Take care of yourself Alice. Call me soon and fill me in."

"I will. Talk to you later. Bye."

Alice hung up the phone and got off the bench where she'd been sitting talking on her phone. As she walked back to work, she couldn't help but wonder what had made Bella sound so excited. It was hardly the fact that Alice had said that she and Edward could come out there and visit, though that had undoubtedly made Bella happy. No, it was more to do with the fact that Alice had mentioned she wanted to go back to Forks. She tried to think of what Bella had whispered in the last few minutes of the conversation, but it hadn't been said audibly enough and it was loud on that street.

"She's plotting something, she has to be," said Alice. "I shouldn't have said that I wanted to come back because she's going to go straight to Carlisle and tell him that, even though I said that I have to stay here. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. It'd be awesome if Carlisle and Esme did show up on our doorstep. I don't know how they'd find us, but it'd still be awesome."

The next two days passed by uneventfully and Alice began to wonder if she was wrong about the assumption she'd made and perhaps the Cullen's weren't coming out to see her. She had known better than to get her hopes up, but she still dreamt of them at night. Her dreams had become more pleasant these last few nights, all of them about her and her family. Some of them were about her doing various activities with the rest of the Cullen's, cooking with Esme, playing video games with Emmett, listening to Edward play the piano, just talking with Carlisle, shopping with Bella and Rosalie.

But the majority of her dreams were about Jasper. The two of them going to college together, going to dinner every few nights and spending quality time together. One night in particular, her dreams showed him kneeling down in front of her in the Cullen's backyard, a diamond ring in his hand. The dream jumped forward to the two of them standing together hand in hand, just gazing into each other's eyes, her in a beautiful white dress and veil, him in a dashing black tux. He opened his mouth to speak and her heart soared when she heard his lips form the words, "I do." Just as he was leaning in to kiss her was when her alarm chose to go off and wake her up.

"Aw, no! No! No!" she yelled in frustration, slamming her fist into her pillow. She wanted so desperately to be back in Forks, sitting in the large living room of the Cullen mansion, wrapped securely in Jasper's arms. She could almost feel him next to her, one arm draped around her waist, the other hand holding one of hers, her head sitting on his shoulder and his head coming to rest on top of hers. Every once in a while, he'd place a kiss on her forehead and pull her more closely to himself. It was her favorite dream to imagine them sitting together like that.

Then, ten days after she left Forks, things changed. It was a Sunday, so she didn't have to worry about either of her jobs that day. She laid in bed for most of the morning, only getting up to make herself breakfast and thought about going to church nearby, but decided against it. She wasn't in the mod to go anywhere today and besides, it was probably asking too much to pray for another second chance at a different life.

By about 2:00, she still hadn't left her room and was just finishing getting dressed to go for a walk and get some fresh air, when she heard the doorbell ring.

"Who could that be?" she asked herself as she brushed her hair.

She heard her mother answer the door and paused as she tried to hear what was being said in the entryway. She heard her mother's voice and two other voices, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She thought she recognized the two voices, but through the door, she couldn't quite make them out. She cracked open the door just a little bit and the dialogue became much clearer.

"We're here to see Alice," said a male voice and her eyes widened as she recognized it.

"May I ask why?" asked her mother.

"We want to visit her and see that she's all right," said a female voice. "May we see her please?"

Alice was struggling to breathe by this point. She'd know those voices anywhere. But surely this was all a dream. Surely her mind was playing some sort of trick on her. She pinched her upper arm hard and gave a small yelp of pain, quickly eradicating the idea of the situation being a figment of her imagination.

"Alice, could you come here for a minute please?" called her mother.

Alice practically flew down the hallway to see what was going on. When she came to a stop in the entryway, she smiled at two people whom she thought she'd never see again. Carlisle and Esme were standing in the doorway, large smiles on their faces.

"Carlisle, Esme, oh my gosh!" cried Alice. She ran to them and flung an arm around both of them, pulling them into a group hug. "It's so good to see you guys. What are you doing here?"

"I meant it when I said you'd become part of the family," said Carlisle. "And the only contact you've had with us is that one conversation with Bella. We had to come out here and check on you."

Alice nodded as she realized she was right in thinking that Bella would go straight to Carlisle after that conversation. She wondered how much Bella had said, particularly if she had said she wanted to come back to Forks.

"How are you, my dear?" asked Esme, who seemed a little reluctant to release Alice from her embrace.

"I'm fine," said Alice. "I'm working hard, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. How are the others?"

"They're coping, shall we say," said Carlisle. "They all wanted to come, but someone had to hold down the fort at home. However, we did bring a surprise for you."

"A surprise for me? What is it?" asked Alice excitedly.

One more person walked through the door and her eyes widened at the sight of him. It definitely wasn't a dream now, he was standing right in front of her. Her face broke out into an enormous smile and she whispered, "Jasper," before launching herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his arms went around her waist, holding each other as tightly as they could while still managing to breathe. They clung to each other, both thinking that the instant they let go was the instant that one of them would leave again. They pulled back a little so they could look at each other, each one keeping their arms wrapped around the other one.

"I've missed you so much, Alice," said Jasper, running a finger down her cheek.

"I've missed you more," said Alice. "I keep dreaming about you every night."

They just looked at each other for a moment, seeming to have a silent conversation. But their moment was ruined when Meredith Brandon chose that moment to interrupt and quite harshly too.

"So you three live in that town in Washington, what is it? Forks?" she asked.

"That's correct," said Carlisle. "We own a large house there and I work at the local hospital."

Meredith then turned her attention to Jasper and said, "you're that boy she met on the plane."

"Yes," said Jasper simply, not liking the tone of voice she was using.

"And how long are you planning on staying?"

"Long enough to know that Alice is being well taken care of," said Esme, giving Meredith a very cold look. It looked as though the two women were having a sort of staring contest and Esme won. Esme knew Meredith wouldn't give Alice up so easily, while Meredith realized what exactly what was going on.

"They want to take her back to Forks," she said silently. "They want to take her away from me again. Well that's not going to happen."

She then said out loud, "well, Alice is taking care of herself just fine as you can see."

"I know she can take care of herself," said Esme coldly. "What I'd like to know is if you're taking care of her, which is how it should be."

Meredith seemed taken aback by her remark. She'd thought Carlisle and Esme just wanted to see that Alice could do fine without them, but no, they wanted to see that she was being taken care of, and if she wasn't, that'd become their first argument for taking her back to Forks.

She quickly stuttered out, "I am taking care of her, to the best of my ability."

Alice rolled her eyes at her mother's remark. She could see what she was doing. She wanted to get rid of Carlisle, Esme and Jasper so that they wouldn't bring up the option of Alice returning to Forks. Alice still felt she had a duty to her mother, but she was beginning to realize little by little that she had to follow her heart, do what she wanted and return to Forks. The hard part would be convincing her mother to let her go.

"Is it all right if we sit down and talk?" asked Carlisle.

"I suppose so," said Meredith, giving him the same cold glare she'd just given Esme.

They all walked into the small living room to talk. Carlisle and Esme sat together on the sofa, while Jasper sat down in one of the two chairs. Alice sat on the arm of the chair and reached for his hand. He gently took hold of it and squeezed it reassuringly. She gave him a nervous look and he just gave her back a small smile, silently telling her everything would be all right. Her gaze intensified as if asking, "how can you be sure?"

He squeezed her hand again and his look grew more serious as he told her with his eyes, "because I'm not going to let you go again."

Her expression grew extremely grateful as she silently told him, "thank you."

He nodded at her with a small smile, his way of saying, "you're welcome."

Their conversation was again interrupted by Meredith bringing in cups of coffee for everyone and asking them about their intentions in coming here.

"I won't beat around the bush, because judging by your demeanor, you've already figured out why we're here," said Carlisle. "We want to offer Alice a home with us in Forks if she's willing to accept it."

"You can't just take her away from me, you know," said Meredith. "She's technically my daughter."

"She's eighteen," argued Esme. "She doesn't have to stay here if she doesn't want to."

Meredith choked on her cup of coffee. She'd forgotten that Alice's eighteenth birthday had come and gone and that legally Alice was no longer a minor. As she was now an adult, she could leave and never come back if she wanted to. She saw Jasper raise his eyebrows at her, as though daring her to come up with an argument to contradict that.

Meredith finally stuttered out, "what if she doesn't want to leave?"

"That's a decision she has to make on her own," said Carlisle and every pair of eyes now turned to Alice. She was beginning to hate it when all the attention was fixed on her like that.

She squirmed for a minute, then said, "I want to go back with you guys more than you can imagine, but I just feel like I have to stay and help my mom."

"No, you don't," Jasper whispered in her ear. "Your place is with us."

She looked down at him, silently telling him, "I really wish I could believe that."

"Jasper, why don't you and Alice go outside and talk for a little while," said Carlisle. "We need to discuss some things in here."

Jasper didn't say anything, he just took Alice gently by the arm and led her out onto the front porch. They sat down on the top step and looked around the neighborhood. There was a moment of silence, then Alice asked, "why did you come out here, Jasper?"

"What kind of a question is that?" asked Jasper testily.

"Just answer it please."

"Because I couldn't stand one more day of not seeing you," replied Jasper. Alice looked away from him, but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look up at him. "Alice, I didn't leave my room for almost three days after you left. I didn't eat or drink anything during that period. Emmett carried me over his shoulder down to the kitchen and Rosalie and Edward made me eat something. I've been thinking of you every second since you left, I've barely slept because all I see when I close my eyes is you leaving in the backseat of Carlisle's car. I can't even look at my motorcycle anymore because it reminds me of when I took you to Port Angeles on it. I need you Alice. I need to see you every day just to keep my peace of mind. I need to tell you that I…"

"Don't Jasper," interrupted Alice.

To say Jasper was hurt by this comment would be an understatement. He gazed at her, pure devastation radiating off of him. "Why?" he asked her. She got up to move away from him, but he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stay sitting by him. "Don't you dare walk away from me," he said. "I know you feel the same way I do, so why are you fighting it?"

"You have no idea how much I've missed you," said Alice after a moment of silence. "But I meant it, Jazz. My mother needs me here. I can't just abandon her. She needs every bit of support she can get."

"Let her get support from someone else," said Jasper exasperatedly. "We need you more than she does. Alice, we've all been miserable without you. You're the person we need to make our family complete. Please, come back with us."

"I can't, no matter how much I want to, I can't," whispered Alice. She got up, went back inside the house and into her room, locking the door behind her and leaving Jasper on the porch, completely heartbroken.

----------

Carlisle and Esme weren't having much luck either. Meredith Brandon was putting up quite a fight for her daughter, but the Cullen's were determined to win it if it was the last thing they ever did.

"How exactly do you intend to provide for her?" asked Carlisle. "She has her entire life ahead of her, the rest of high school, college, a career she'll excel at. You have to give her the opportunity to experience all those things and she never will if she stays here, spending the rest of her life taking care of you."

"She wants to stay here with me, she doesn't want any of those things," said Meredith dismissively.

"You don't know your own daughter then," said Esme. "She said herself that she'd love to finish high school and go to college if she had half the chance. And there's no chance of that happening here."

"Perhaps there is if she keeps her grades up," said Meredith.

"How can she keep her grades up if she doesn't finish high school?" asked Carlisle angrily.

"We'll find a way to pay for it," said Meredith shrugging.

"You care for her wellbeing, don't you?" asked Esme suddenly.

"Of course I do," said Meredith, visibly offended.

"Then let us take her home. She's like a daughter to us. The rest of our family all think of her as a sister. And Jasper, did you not see that he's in love with her?"

Meredith really looked taken aback at that remark. "How can he be in love with her?"

"If you'd known Jasper as long as we all have, you'd know just how much he loves her," said Carlisle. "There's no question of it." He paused and said, "we will leave if Alice wants us to. We'll call in to check on her occasionally and we'll come and visit, but if she doesn't want to come back to Forks with us, then I promise we won't bring it up again. But until we hear her final decision, I suggest we all keep an open mind."

He was cut off by Alice dashing across the hallway and entering her room. They could hear her crying from within it. Esme went right to the door and knocked on it softly, saying, ""Alice, honey what's the matter?"

"N…nothing," Alice called back.

"Please honey, tell me," soothed Esme.

She heard the sound of the door being unlocked and Esme came face to face with a very sad Alice. "It's so good to see you guys," said Alice. "And I want to go back to Forks so much, but I can't. And I just hurt Jasper so much, I can't go back now." She slammed the door in Esme's face as another wave of tears overcame her.

Esme got a piece of paper and a pen out of her purse, quickly wrote down a phone number and address and slipped it under Alice's door, saying, "sweetheart, if you need anything this is the hotel we're staying at. Come anytime you need us. And the number is Carlisle's cell phone. Feel free to call us if you need us."

"T…thank you, Esme," Alice said.

Carlisle put his arm around his wife and escorted her out of the house, grabbing Jasper's arm on the way out and said, "come on, let's let it sink in a bit and then we'll come back tomorrow and give it another shot."

Jasper didn't answer. He was still looking shell shocked. "What is it Jasper?" asked Carlisle.

He still didn't answer. He just got in the backseat of their rental car and stayed silent all the way back to the hotel. He drifted like a ghost back up to their hotel suite, went in his room and locked the door behind him. He slumped down against the wall and buried his face in his hands, trying hard to collect himself; he had to be strong if he was going to win the fight to get Alice back. But it was hard when she'd asked him not to tell her that he loved her.

"I can't believe she wouldn't let me say it," he thought to himself as he got up and walked into the bathroom. He splashed cold water on his face, hoping it would help clear his head, but it didn't help in the slightest. As he dried off, something caught his eye. It was a razor lying on the countertop. For a brief second, his eyes darted between the razor and his wrist. Should he? He knew what that would do to the family if he did. Esme, Rosalie and Bella would all be devastated, while Carlisle, Emmett and Edward trying to do their best to comfort them while also trying to fight off their own grief. But Alice in just a few short weeks had become his light in the darkness, his shining star, the love of his entire life and without her, there wasn't any reason for him to live.

"Wait until she makes up her mind to come back with us or not," he told himself. "If she doesn't, then I won't be a burden to my family."

He went back into his room to hear a knock on the door. "Jasper, can I come in?" asked Carlisle. Jasper sighed and unlocked the door to let his second father into the house. Carlisle looked upset both at the thought of how the fight for Alice was going and at the state Jasper was in at that moment.

He put his hand on his son's shoulder and said, "don't worry. We're going to get her back."

"I want to believe that Carlisle," said Jasper. "But she keeps saying no. She wouldn't even let me tell her that I love her."

"What?" asked Carlisle confusedly.

"I was just about to tell her and she stopped me. She knew what I was about to say and she wouldn't let me say it."

"Don't despair. She loves you back, I know she does."

"Then why won't she say it?"

"Because she's blinded by the idea that she has to stay here and help her mother. Did she say that she wanted to come back?"

"Yeah she did. How can we convince her to come back?"

"Like I said, don't despair. We'll find a way, I know we will."

"What's our next move then?" asked Jasper.

"We go back tomorrow and see if she's had a chance to mull things over," said Carlisle.

"Jasper," said Esme, walking into the room. She reached up to give her newest son a hug and said, "are you all right, sweetie?"

"I'm fine," said Jasper, actually meaning it. Carlisle was right, he couldn't give up hope.

Suddenly, Jasper got a horrible feeling in the bottom of his heart. His faced hardened and he stood as still as a statue, as though he was waiting for something. Carlisle and Esme glanced at each other concernedly, before Esme asked, "Jasper, what's wrong."

The words he said next chilled his foster parents to the bone, "Alice is in trouble."

**Author's Note:** All right, that's another one down. It actually took me longer to write than I thought it would. But what'd you think? Did you like it? I had to put some sort of cliffhanger in there, considering there haven't been very many of them in this story. There's probably going to be one more chapter than the story will be done. I'm sorry for saying that, but it's true. There's one chapter left to write and then the story will be over. But don't worry, it's going to be a great ending, I promise! Stay tuned!


	10. The Final Decision

**AN**: Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you all, but I've had a mountain of biology homework these last few weeks. I can't wait to get out of this semester of college so I can change my major and never have to worry about science ever again. I think being an English major will suit me much more than any kind of science does.

All right, so in the last chapter we had the Cullen's arrive in Chicago to take Alice back to Forks with them but both she and her mother were putting up some resistance, even though Alice wants to go back. And we rounded it off with Jasper getting a feeling that Alice was in trouble. Okay, now I'm going to try something a bit different with this chapter. You know in the last few chapters, I've been relating an event from Alice's perspective and if I want to do it from someone else's then I do a flashback scene. No flashbacks here. I'm going to do the event of rescuing Alice first from Jasper's perspective, then I'm going to go back in time story-wise before the incident and have Alice's perspective. That's why it's going to seem strange if the story jumps around a little somewhere in the middle. So don't worry, there's a method for my madness.

And you'll all be pleased to hear this, but this **IS NOT** the last chapter!!! I managed to extend this out so there's this chapter, the next one, then the story will be over. So you still have one more chapter to look forward to!! Am I good or what? Happy reading!

**Chapter 10: The Final Decision**

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other puzzled, not knowing what to say to that remark. Finally, Esme said cautiously, "what do you mean she's in trouble? How do you know?"

"I don't know how to explain it, I just know," said Jasper. "I can feel it. Something's wrong. We have to get back to her house and help her."

"Son," said Carlisle in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "Maybe we should just call her and see if she's all right."

"We may not have time," argued Jasper, who was putt his coat on hurriedly. He turned back to his foster parents. Neither of them had moved an inch. "Come on!" he shouted angrily at them. They looked at each other once more before Carlisle got the car keys and they dashed back down to the parking lot.

"Jasper, you have to give us more to go on than this," said Carlisle, though as he started the car, he began to get a feeling in the bottom of his heart as well that something wasn't right. He tried to brush it off and say that it was all psychosomatic and that Alice was fine, but something told him he shouldn't hold his breath.

"I told you Carlisle, I don't know how to explain it any better," replied Jasper anxiously.

There was silence for the rest of the drive as Carlisle and Esme tried to figure out what was going on. Theories were dashing through Carlisle's head at the speed of light, each more implausible than the last. Esme just gripped the armrest and tried to keep her mind off what sort of trouble Alice might've gotten herself into now. Jasper just stared out the window, willing the car to go faster. But Carlisle was going as fast as he could, given the traffic laws and they weren't sure if there was anything even to worry about.

Jasper dialed Alice's cell phone number, but there was no answer. He tried again, still no answer. He was beginning to get frantic. Where was she?

When the car pulled up in front of the Brandon house, Jasper didn't wait until Carlisle had fully turned off the engine before jumping out of the car. He sprinted across the lawn to the front door and pounded his fist on it. Meredith Brandon looked surprised to see him when she opened the door, but the surprise was overshadowed by the worried expression on her face. Something was up, that was for sure.

"Where's Alice?" asked Jasper hurriedly.

"She went for a walk," replied Meredith. "She told me she was just going for a walk around the block, but she's been gone for too long. It doesn't take over an hour to walk around this neighborhood. She didn't take her cell phone either, so I was about to go out, then you show up pounding on my door."

"Do you know which way she went?" asked Jasper.

"Somewhere along that way," said Meredith, pointing down the road. Jasper looked in the direction she'd pointed and his shoulders slumped in frustration. There was a fork in the road dead ahead of them. She could've gone in either direction.

"Seriously," he thought to himself. "Do the gods have to make this day any harder?"

Carlisle and Esme finally reached the porch by this point, but they needn't have bothered getting out of the car. Jasper was already starting back towards it saying, "come on, let's drive around the neighborhood 'til we find her."

As Jasper reached the car though, Meredith called him back. "There's a park about a mile and a half that way you could try," she called, pointing towards the right hand path in the fork. "She sometimes goes there when she wants to think."

Jasper didn't even answer her. He just got back in the car and Carlisle began to drive in the direction Meredith had indicated. They reached the park after about five minutes of driving, but unfortunately, it was the size of the forest that lined the Cullen's backyard. Jasper didn't say anything, but his face was speaking volumes. Worry, anxiety and hopelessness were radiating off of him in waves, but he knew he was going to have to get over that if he wanted to find Alice before something bad happened to her.

He jumped out of the car, ran through the park entrance, not even bothering to see if Carlisle and Esme were behind him. He ran down the main path and began looking at possible trails she might've taken. He knew there was nothing else for it but to start exploring but that would take too long. Fortunately however, Lady Luck decided to take pity on him.

"Let me go! Help!" he heard a voice yelling from a couple trails down. He'd know that voice anywhere and he remembered the tone being used as well. It sounded as though Alice was having a repeat of the Port Angeles incident.

"Not again," Jasper murmured exasperatedly, but all the same, he sprinted down the trail as fast as he could in the direction the scream had come from. This time, he'd do more than just beat the crap out of whoever it was. He was going to break something at the very least, an arm, a leg, he didn't care as long as they paid for endangering _his_ Alice. He heard another scream and pushed himself to go faster. His legs were beginning to ache in protest of how quickly he was moving and his lungs were beginning to burn from lack of oxygen, but he didn't stop. He rounded the corner and his heart slammed to a stop. He'd gotten there just in time to see the same two men from Port Angeles with their hands all over Alice. She was fighting and struggling to get away, but being only 4'10", she was at a slight disadvantage.

"Hold still!" said one of them, growing irritated with her and slapping her across the face, which made her cry out in pain.

Rage coursed through Jasper twice as much as it had when he found Alice in Washington and he walked briskly forward saying loudly and clearly, "leave her alone!"

The two men turned around and when they saw him, their expressions turned from shock to alarm then strangely to amusement.

"So, you're here after all," said the first one. "I thought for sure you'd be long gone."

"I wish you were," said the second one. "Then this pretty little thing would be all ours." He ran his finger down Alice's cheek, making her whimper in fear and try to turn away from him, but he wouldn't let go of her.

"Get your damn filthy hands off her!" he said, breaking into a run and preparing to swing a punch at one of them. However, both thugs were prepared this time. The nearest one grabbed Jasper's fist before it could make contact and quickly twisted his arm behind his back. Before Jasper had time to react, he felt a hard blow on the back of his knees and he went down to the ground.

"Jasper!" screamed Alice in fright, struggling against the hold of the other man.

Jasper started to say, "I'm fine," but his opponent wasn't done with him yet. He punched him in the face and kicked him hard in the stomach. Jasper gasped audibly, trying hard to breathe but all that came out of his mouth was a bad wheezing sound. Alice burst into tears as she realized there was nothing she could do to stop the pain that man was inflicting on him, pain because he had come to rescue her.

Jasper was beyond angry by this point. "What the hell's the matter with me?" he asked himself. "Six weeks ago, I was able to beat these guys to a pulp and make them run like the cowards they are. But I had the element of surprise then. I shouldn't have made my presence known." He struggled to get up, but before he could move an inch, he was lying on his stomach, pinned to the ground. He could feel that villain's knee pressing hard into his back, preventing him from getting up.

"Here's the deal girlie," he heard him say. "We'll leave him alone if you come with us quietly."

Jasper shook his head furiously and thought to himself, "no way, she can't go with them. I can't lose her again, not after I've just gotten her back." Out loud, he said, "No Alice, don't." He wished he could've sounded stronger, but his voice was still hoarse and he still hadn't got his breath back from when he'd been winded.

At that moment, he heard a voice call out, "Jasper! Alice! Let them go!"

"Shit," said the man above him and the last thing he felt was someone hitting him hard in the head before he lost consciousness altogether.

------------

Alice watched Carlisle, Esme and Jasper leave from the hall window and knew that she ruined her life again.

"For God's sake, what is wrong with me?" she asked herself. "I've been given a _third_ chance to rebuild my life and isn't the third time supposed to be the charm? I need to accept their offer to come back to Forks while I still can, but what am I supposed to do about Mom? She needs me around."

Unfortunately for her, her mother decided she had to make the decision-making process all the more harder for her daughter, came up behind her and said, "Alice, you don't want to go back with them, do you? I thought the reason you came back was because you weren't happy there and wanted to come home."

"That's not true," said Alice. "I loved Forks, I love the Cullen's. They're my family now, Mom. I came back because you needed me. You needed me to take care of you and you're going to need me until you're strong enough to take care of yourself without feeling the urge to go to a bar every night. I'm sacrificing my chance at love and happiness to do the right thing and look after you."

"Sweetheart, that woman, Esme is it?" Alice nodded. "She said you wanted to finish high school and go to college."

"I do," replied Alice. "I've wanted that for a long while now, but I'm not going to be able to go with Dad gone."

"Her husband…" said Meredith, trailing off trying to remember his name.

"Carlisle," piped up Alice immediately

"Yes, Carlisle. He has a good job, I believe?"

"He's a doctor. He's one of the best surgeons in all of Washington State."

"And filthy rich from the look of the clothes he and his wife were wearing," said Meredith enviously, her mind also wandering to the small fortune worth of diamonds Esme had been wearing in her ears and around her neck.

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Alice testily.

"They can pay for high school and college, I can't," said Meredith.

"I know that," said Alice. "I knew that before I left Forks. One of their sons, Edward, even brought that point up when he and the others were trying to convince me to stay. But I just had to give us a chance to patch up our relationship."

"You gave up your future to come back here," said Meredith, realizing for the first time the sacrifices her daughter had made for her. "I appreciate that, Alice, but…"

Alice didn't give her a chance to finish. She turned on her and said lividly, "you appreciate that? I gave up finishing my education to take care of you and you say you appreciate that? What kind of person are you? You don't convince me to go back and make something of myself, you say that I should stay here. If I stay here, I'll never find my place in this world and never have a chance to find the love of my life! Scratch that, I have found the love of my life and he is currently sitting in his hotel suite with a broken heart because I stopped him from telling me he loved me and said I couldn't go back with him. I love him, Mother. I love him more than I thought I could love anyone else and I hate that you're taking that away from me!"

Meredith stood there in a daze for a moment, snapping out of it when she saw Alice grab her coat from the hook by the door. "Where are you going?" she snapped.

"For a walk, I want some fresh air."

"Mary Alice Brandon, come back here!"

Alice turned back to her mother and before she realized what she'd said, the words, "Mary Alice Cullen," had fallen out of her mouth. She turned around and walked out the door without another word, leaving her mother standing there in a stunned silence.

She quickly walked down the street to the park. She'd gone there often to play when she was little and as she started her teen years, she went normally just to get away from life and have some time for herself. After her father left, she spent as much time as she could just walking and thinking to herself, trying to figure out what she'd done wrong to make her father leave. Now as she walked down her favorite trail next to a small river, she thought of how she desperately needed to go back to Forks.

"Why did I speak to Jasper like that?" she asked herself. "I love him and I'm pretty sure he was about to tell me that he loves me. But if he'd said that, then I'd have had to go back to Forks with him. I wouldn't have been able to resist him after that. But Mom needs me, she just plain needs me. How can I abandon her, go and be happy when she's here trying to get over her alcohol addiction? Come to think of it, I can't believe I spoke to my mother that way. I told her I want to go back to Forks, I told her I love Jasper…whoa! Did I say my name was Alice _Cullen_? Where in the name of heaven did _that_ come from? I mean, I know Jasper and I joked around about how the name Cullen suits me better than Brandon does, but to say my name actually is Cullen, that's pushing it a little. Mom isn't going to be happy with me when I get back. But for now, she needs to cool down and so do I."

She was jerked out of her reverie at that moment by the sound of people coming her way. She looked up to see who it was and groaned when she saw two men walking towards her, the looks on their faces identical to the ones who had cornered her in Port Angeles all those weeks ago.

"I'm officially a danger magnet," she thought to herself, as she started walking more quickly down the dirt path. But they sped up after her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that they were fast approaching her and her short legs wouldn't be able to get her away quickly enough.

"They even look like the guys from Port Angeles," she thought to herself.

"Hey girl, remember us?" called one of them and she recognized the voice.

"Yeah, fancy meeting you here!" said the other one, who was more than relieved at the fact that Jasper wasn't there to protect her this time.

"Oh crap, it is them!" she thought as she moved even faster. But they had surrounded her after another minute.

"Didn't think you'd see us again, did you?" asked the first one.

"What are you thugs doing here?" she asked nervously.

"Visiting a friend, went for a walk and funny enough, we find you," said second one.

"Where's your little friend? He isn't here to come to your rescue now."

"Yeah, we've got you all to ourselves. And this time, you won't get away."

Alice thought quickly as they both reached out to grab her by the arms. This time, she did have time to react before they both grabbed her. She quickly brought her leg back, then kicked the nearest one as hard as she could in the crotch. He bent over in pain, distracting the other one for a few seconds, which gave Alice a little bit of a head start. But it didn't distract him for very long. He caught up with her in two strides, grabbed her forcefully by the arms and turned her around to face him.

"That was a very dangerous move, missy," he said to her, beginning to run his hands up and down her arms, making her recoil in disgust.

"First of all, don't call me missy," said Alice, venom dripping from her voice. "Second, Jasper will be here any minute to help me. He's just gone to get us something to drink, that's all."

"Nice try, but I can smell a bluff a mile away," he said, inching closer to her. She tried to back away from him, but his grip on her arms was too tight.

His friend came up on her other side and began groping her as well, saying "just relax. It'll be over before you know it." He tightened his grip on her arm, his touch hard and painful, nothing like Jasper's tender and loving fingers. She kept struggling against them and they were starting to get frustrated with her.

"Hold still!" said one of them sharply. Then she felt a stinging on her cheek and heard a snap as his hand made contact with the soft skin of her face. He hit her so hard her neck snapped back a little, making her go still out of pure shock. Unfortunately, that was just what they needed to start taking her away.

"Please, someone please help me," Alice said silently as she felt herself begin to be dragged away.

"Leave her alone!" yelled a voice from a few yards away. The two thugs turned in surprise, but didn't lessen their hold on Alice. She couldn't help but smile in relief when she saw Jasper walking towards them. The look on his face was pure rage, dark, dangerous and ferocious, but she still smiled. He had come to her rescue again and she knew he always would.

"So you're here after all," said one of her captors. "I thought for sure you'd be long gone."

"I wish you were, then this pretty little thing would be all ours," said the other, running his finger down her cheek.

"Disgusting," Alice thought to herself as she shrank back away from him.

"Get your damn filthy hands off her!" said Jasper angrily as he stalked forward to help her. Alice tried to think back to how he had fought them off when they were in Port Angeles, then remembered that she had been unconscious for the entire fight. He'd obviously done well in that brawl, but he wasn't quite so lucky now. One of the men kept a tight hold on Alice, holding her arms behind her back, while the other one took on Jasper. He'd been taking some fighting classes or maybe he was just more prepared for him this time, but in little more than a minute, Jasper was pinned to the ground after having been repeatedly kicked and punched.

"Jasper!" screamed Alice in agony while this was occurring. That awful man was hurting him because he had come to rescue her and she wasn't able to do anything about it. She couldn't stand it if this went on much longer. "I have to do something," she thought to herself, struggling against her captor's hold, but this made him hold her even tighter. She nearly gagged when she heard the one pinning down Jasper say that if she came with them willingly, they'd leave him alone.

"What do I do?" she asked, looking down at Jasper. He was shaking his head frantically at her and saying no as strongly as he could, which wasn't very strong considering how he'd been hit. She was about to agree and allow herself to be dragged away when the cavalry arrived, late as usual.

"Alice! Jasper! Let them go!" It was Carlisle. He and Esme had finally shown up and were running as quickly as possible towards them, Esme looking scared out of her mind and Carlisle with an expression of intense anger on his face.

"Shit!" said the one restraining Jasper. He lifted his foot and hit Jasper once in the head with the heel of his shoe before making a dash for it. His friend followed after him, attempting to drag Alice along with him, but she planted her feet and held her ground, hoping she could at least make it difficult for the villain to drag her off. That was hard to do because of how short she was, but thankfully, Carlisle could still run fairly quickly and caught up with them easily.

"Let her go!" he snarled, delivering a punch to the man's left eye. "If you ever touch my children again, so help me God, I will tear you to pieces!" He swung his fist at the man again and the way he dodged the blow forced him to loosen his grip on Alice. She wriggled out of his grip and ran over to join Esme, who wrapped her arms around her "daughter" and started trying to calm her down. Carlisle was trying to hit his opponent again, but he was running very quickly by now after his friend who had gotten a decent head start on him.

Carlisle took a deep breath to calm down and walked back over to Alice and Esme, trying to keep his voice calm as he asked her, "Alice, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but what about…" she trailed off, when she saw that Jasper hadn't gotten up after Carlisle arrived. He was unconscious and a big lump was starting to form on his head from where he'd been hit. His face didn't look so good either, he'd definitely have a black eye tomorrow.

"Jasper!" shrieked Alice before dashing over to him. The three of them hurriedly knelt down next to him, Alice taking hold of one of Jasper's hands and wrapping the other arm around Esme hoping to get some comfort. Esme put both her arms around Alice's shoulders and tried to keep her emotions in check so she could be strong for Alice, but that was difficult seeing as her son was lying on the ground injured.

"Jasper," said Carlisle softly, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him. "Son, can you hear me?" He gently prodded the area where Jasper had gotten hit and tried hard not to wince as heard his son let out a low moan.

"We need to clean that wound on his head," said Carlisle looking for something to use. There was a stream a few meters away, trickling merrily without a care in the world. For a moment, Carlisle wished he was so lucky, but then squashed that thought. He had his wife and two of his children there with him, the rest of them back in Forks awaiting their return. He wouldn't trade what he had for anything, not even the chance to live a quiet and peaceful life without any worries at all. But the sound of running water had given him an idea.

"Esme, do you have a handkerchief in your purse?" he asked. Esme hurriedly opened her purse and dug through it before handing him a simple white kerchief. He waved it off and said, "go over there and dampen it in the stream and then bring it back to me." She didn't say anything, but nodded and did as she was told. While she did that, Carlisle picked up his son as gently as he could and brought him over to a nearby bench. He then took his coat off, folded it neatly and placed it under Jasper's head as a pillow.

"Carlisle, what can I do?" asked Alice anxiously.

"Just sit here with him," said Carlisle. "Speak to him. That might help him wake up more quickly."

Alice faltered. What was she supposed to say? Should she thank him for saving her again or should she wait until he was awake for that? Or did she say what she really wanted to say, that she loved him?

"Here," said Esme, hurrying back over to them with the damp washcloth in her hand. Carlisle thanked her, turned Jasper over a little so he could see the wound more clearly and began lightly rubbing his head. Jasper let out another moan and both Carlisle and Esme winced as they heard their son let out such a pitiful sound.

Alice was shaking with quiet sobs. How could she have let this happen to someone she loved? She grabbed the handkerchief out of Carlisle's hand and said, "I'll do that," thinking if she was going to make up for this, she'd better start by playing nurse. Carlisle didn't say a word, but stood up and took Esme's hand, guiding her a few feet away and began to talk to her in muted voices.

"Jasper," whispered Alice, so that Carlisle and Esme couldn't hear. "I can't believe you did this for me. You saved me again and I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for it. You shouldn't have gotten hurt though. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting you into this mess, I'm sorry for all those things I said back at the house, I'm sorry I left Forks at all. Wake up. I won't forgive myself if you don't, so please wake up. I need you, I…I love you."

"It's about time," said a hoarse voice and Alice looked up to see Jasper crack his eyes open a little bit. And even though his head was in pain and he was weak and tired, he was still able to give her a breathtaking smile that never failed to make her heart skip a beat.

"Jasper," said Alice dumbfounded. "How long have you been awake?"

"Only about a minute or so," he whispered, not able to talk much more than that.

"You heard all that?" she stuttered. He nodded, but then let out a hiss as that caused pain in his head.

Luckily for Alice, her moment of embarrassment was interrupted when Esme called out, "Jasper?" She and Carlisle moved back over to join them and both let out a sigh of relief when they saw their son was with them once again. Esme immediately pulled him into a hug and said, "Thank the Lord you're all right. I was so worried."

"Sorry Mom," he said, hugging her back and smiling.

"How does your head feel, Jasper?" asked Carlisle, gently prodding it with his fingers.

Jasper hissed in pain again and said, "does that answer your question?"

"Sorry," said Carlisle, helping Jasper to sit up. "Well, you should be all right. Let's get you back to the hotel and get an ice pack to put on your head and maybe it won't swell too much."

"Come on, let's get you home too Alice," said Esme.

"Just one problem with that, home isn't here," said Alice and the three of them turned to stare at her.

"What do you mean, honey?" asked Esme, but the glint in her eye said she knew very well what Alice meant.

"Forks is my home, not here," said Alice simply and at her words was instant celebration.

Esme squealed in delight and hugged her as tightly as possible, kissing her on the cheek and saying she couldn't wait to get home and tell the others. Carlisle laughed, kissed his wife and kissed his newest daughter, glad to finally have a complete family. Jasper came up behind Alice and wrapped his arms around her waist, whispering in her ear. "Good choice, darlin'."

"Did you expect me to say anything else?" she asked as they began walking back towards the park entrance, reaching up to put her arm around him as well.

"I was hoping you'd agree to come back with us, but there was always the chance you'd refuse us again," he replied. "And I couldn't bear it if you said no." He looked deep into her eyes and continued, "I mean it Alice. I'm never letting you go again, not when it's taken me so long to find you. I love you."

"I love you too, Jasper," she said and he smiled the first true smile he had since she left. He leaned down to give her a kiss and the moment their lips touched, Alice heard a symphony of bells and chimes inside her head. This kiss was so much better than any of the previous times he'd kissed her, simply because they'd finally admitted how much they meant to each other and hopefully were never going to be separated again.

But as they got back into the car, Alice was reminded of one last problem. "What about my Mom? How can we convince her to let me go back to Forks?"

"We'll worry about that tomorrow," said Carlisle. "Right now, we all need to get some rest."

"Just where were you guys anyway?" asked Jasper. "It took you ages to catch up with us."

"That's because you're young and you can run quickly," replied Carlisle. "And you were out of the car before I turned the engine off, Jasper. By the time, Esme and I made it into the park, you were already out of sight. We had to follow the sounds of fighting and Alice's screaming to find you."

"Thanks for coming to help us, Carlisle," said Alice. He just nodded, saying he would anytime and every time.

When they got back to Alice's house, she made to get up, but Jasper wouldn't let go of her hand. She turned to look up at him. He was looking at her longingly but also somewhat fearfully, as though he was afraid that the moment he let go of her was the moment he'd lose her forever.

She leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, "I'm not going anywhere, Jasper. I'll be inside waiting for you tomorrow morning. I love you." She kissed him on the cheek, then reached up and hugged Carlisle and Esme awkwardly from behind the back of the seat. She quickly said goodnight and went inside the house, pausing at the front door to watch them drive off back to the hotel. She didn't even hear her mother when she asked where she'd been and what had happened.

"Look at the state you're in!" said Meredith Brandon, taking in Alice's disheveled hair and severely wrinkled clothes, not to mention the fact that part of her face was still swollen from where one of those thugs had hit her. "You tell me right this second, young lady, what happened?"

But Alice didn't even hear her. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts of Jasper and how she'd soon be back in Forks with him and the others that she just went into her room without a word. She showered and just laid in bed for the rest of the day, thinking that maybe things would be all right after all.

-----------

The next morning, Alice woke up and thought for a minute that the entire previous day had been a dream. Had Jasper, Carlisle and Esme really come for her? Had she really been attacked and almost been kidnapped in the park? She knew it wasn't a dream though, it couldn't be. She hadn't been that happy waking up from any of her previous dreams, not even the one of her and Jasper standing at the altar. She quickly got up and got dressed, waiting for the sound she was desperate to hear. It came not half an hour later, the doorbell ringing. She dashed out into the front hallway and threw the door open to see Carlisle, Esme and her beloved Jasper standing on her doorstep and she had never been happier to see them.

"Hey guys!" she squealed, throwing her arms around each of them in turn.

"Hey Alice," they all said together. They came inside and sat down in the living room chatting for a few minutes before Alice's mother decided to make an appearance.

"What's brought you three here again?" she asked coldly, sitting down in an armchair by the mantelpiece.

"What do you think?" asked Jasper equally as cold.

"Jasper," said Esme warningly. "Be polite."

Jasper gave her a look that said clearly, "why should I?" but he didn't say anything.

"So, I take it you still want to take Alice back to your home in Washington," said Meredith as more a statement than a question.

"Yes we do," said Carlisle. He then simply said, "Alice."

She took a deep breath and said, "I want to go back with them, Mom. Forks is my home. In six week, it felt more like home than this entire city ever did. I really feel like I have a family there, parents, brothers and sisters and someone who loves me for just being me." She reached unconsciously for Jasper's hand and he took it instantly, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze to remind her he was there for her and always would be. "I love it there and it took leaving to make me realize exactly what I was giving up. Please Mom, will you let me go home?"

All eyes turned to Meredith Brandon awaiting her answer. She looked from face to face, trying to come up with some argument to make her daughter stay. She had missed her terribly all those weeks and had been more relieved than anything when she'd turned up at home. Now she was proposing to go away again.

"Alice, do you have any idea what sort of state I was in after you left?" she asked and Alice sighed as she realized what was happening. Classic guilt-trip. "Put lightly, I was a wreck. I was stone cold sober all those weeks because it was my drinking that drove you away. I called the police two days after you left and called them back every day or so, but they didn't do anything to help me. I even hired a private investigator to find you, but since you didn't have a credit card to trace you with, he couldn't find you anywhere. Now you want to go off and make me worry like that again?"

"You needn't worry," reassured Esme. "We'll take excellent care of her and give her the future she deserves. The one she'll never get if she stays here."

"I'm still technically her mother, I'll always worry," pointed out Meredith.

"You have an odd way of showing it, you didn't worry quite so much in the months when she was trying to support the two of you. You just went bar-hopping every night."

"Esme," said Carlisle, taking her hand gently and warning her to watch what she said, much more subtly than she had done with Jasper. He continued, "Alice deserves so much more than she has here. Will you give her a chance at happiness?"

Meredith knew she had lost, but she wasn't sure if she could admit it or not. Alice wanted to leave and as her mother, she knew she had an obligation to let her baby go at some point, but no matter what the circumstances, that was always a difficult thing to do. But when she saw the expression on her daughter's face, the pleading look in her eyes, she knew she had to give her little girl wings and let her fly. She just sighed in defeat and nodded her head.

For a minute, Alice thought she had strayed into one of her dreams. Was her mother really going to let her go back to Forks just like that? "Really?" she stammered out.

"Yes, you can go if you really want to."

Alice squealed and hugged everyone in the room. She was going home!

But her mother wasn't done quite yet. "But you have to agree to a few conditions," she said.

Alice stopped and looked at her nervously before asking, "what kind of conditions?"

"First, you have to agree to call me at least once a week just to check in," said Meredith. "I'll tell you everything that's happening here if you tell me everything happening with you."

"Done," said Alice.

"Second, I want to be present at your high school graduation, college graduation, wedding, and every other major event in your life."

"You think I wouldn't invite you?" asked Alice incredulously. "You're still my mom."

"And I'll provide your plane tickets and accommodations," said Carlisle.

"You don't have to do that," said Meredith blushing a little bit.

"It'd be my pleasure," said Carlisle reassuringly and Esme smiled up at the gentleman that was her husband.

"Anything else Mom?" asked Alice.

"I'd like you to come out and visit me over the summer if that's not too much to ask," said Meredith.

"Of course it isn't," said Alice. "I'll come and see you for a couple weeks every summer."

"We can fly you up to spend Christmas with us if you'd like," said Esme.

"I'll have to think about it," said Meredith. "It depends on what's happening here." And they all knew that was her way of saying she'd like to come but still wasn't sure if she'd be welcome or not.

"Then it's settled," said Carlisle. "Let's start getting all our affairs in order."

They spent the next few days signing documents and filing paperwork that legally made Alice Carlisle and Esme's daughter, enabling them to everything in their power to support her and take care of her. Meredith Brandon nearly burst into tears as she was signing over her daughter to another couple, but she managed to hold them all back. When the question of her taking the Cullen name came up, Alice paused a moment and deliberated. She remembered the discussion she and Jasper had had and she knew the name Alice Cullen suited her a lot more than Alice Brandon did, but she still wasn't sure if she wanted to change it. She then got an idea. When she signed the document changing her name, she signed it "Alice Brandon-Cullen," so that she still had her original name, but could still be called "Alice Cullen" for short.

Finally, when everything was signed, I's dotted and T's crossed, it was time to leave. Esme and Meredith helped Alice pack her things together and they all chatted pleasantly. The two women were much friendlier now than they had been when the Cullen's first arrived and Alice thought it was because they were trying to come to terms with the fact that they now shared a daughter. But as long as they got along, it was all right.

Carlisle confirmed their plane tickets for the following day while Jasper called the others to tell them they were coming home.

"Is Alice coming with you?" was the first thing out of Rosalie's mouth when she heard Jasper say they were on their way back.

"You'll have to wait and see Rose," he said, purposefully making his voice sound sad and dejected, which immediately made her think Alice had said no. He knew she'd relay this back to Emmett, Edward and Bella, which would upset Bella and anger his brothers. But they all wanted this to be a surprise for the other Cullen children, then they'd have a party to celebrate Alice's homecoming.

The next day at the airport, they got all their baggage checked and Meredith walked as far as the security gate with them. She hugged her daughter, then shook hands with Carlisle, Esme and Jasper.

"You take care of her now," said Meredith. "If I find out something's wrong, I'll be up there in a heartbeat."

"Don't worry, she's in excellent hands," said Carlisle in a very if-I-do-say-so-myself voice.

Esme rolled her eyes at him and said, "he's right. We'll take very good care of her."

"And you," said Meredith turning to Jasper. "Don't you dare break her heart."

"Perish the thought," said Jasper, knowing that hurting Alice would be the last thing he'd ever do.

"Goodbye my dear," said Meredith, hugging Alice one last time. "Call me when you get there"

"I will, goodbye Mom," said Alice. They made their way through security and as they headed for their gate, Alice turned to wave goodbye to her mother once more before leaving for Forks.

"Are you okay?" asked Jasper, placing his arm around her.

"I'm fine," she replied. Though it was difficult saying goodbye to her own mother, it had been ten times more difficult to walk away from Carlisle and Esme when she left Forks a little over two weeks ago. She looked up at Jasper and said, "come on Jazzy, let's go home." Jasper smiled at her before leaning down to give her a small kiss on the lips, then guided her onto the plane that would take them back to Forks and back to their family.

**Author's Note:** All right, the penultimate chapter has been written! What did you think of the rescue scene? I couldn't make it too easy for Jasper, I think it was a little too easy for him last time, but he had to win last time. In Port Angeles, he not only took the thugs by surprise but he had to protect Rosalie as well as Alice. And they did have time to react to him this time.

So Alice is going home with them and the next chapter is going to be her reunion with the rest of the family and the months after that. Now one thing is that I didn't realize I'd made a mistake with their school years until it was too late. You know how in the books, Alice was playing a junior with Bella and Edward, while Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were all seniors? Well, because Alice technically had to be eighteen to run away and be able to stay away and how I've already said none of them are in college, I'm going to make her start her senior year with Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. Is that all right with everyone? I hope so! Stay tuned!


	11. The Reason I Survive

**AN**: Hello everyone! I think this is the quickest I've ever been able to get a chapter for this story out. Now I regret to inform you that this is the last chapter of this story. But don't fret, I have a couple more Twilight stories on the way. I've already started work on a James/Victoria story called "Finding My Flame" and I know I'm going to do a Bella/Edward at some point, but I haven't quite figured out the details yet.

But in this chapter, we have Alice returning to Forks, the day after her return and the months following her return. It's going to be good. I've also posted another video on my profile page. It's another video by Paul Byrom of Celtic Thunder. In this one, he's singing "She" which is the song at the end of the chapter. He does the best rendition of that song I've ever heard and it's that one that Alice and Jasper dance to, I just don't have that specified in the story. Check out the video when you get a chance, the man has an amazing voice. I hope you enjoy this last chapter. Happy reading!

**Chapter 11: The Reason I Survive**

Rosalie had been a picture of nerves ever since Jasper's phone call. He hadn't said specifically if Alice was coming home with him, Carlisle and Esme or not, which of course, made her think the worst.

"She's not coming," said Rosalie, the instant she got off the phone with Jasper.

"What are you talking about, Rosie?" asked Emmett worriedly.

"I just talked to Jasper. When I asked if they'd gotten Alice to agree to come back, he said, 'you'll just have to wait and see.' The tone of his voice was so miserable, so gloomy. She must've decided to stay in Chicago and Jasper just didn't have the strength inside to say it. He loves her so much, what other reason could there be for him sounding so depressed?"

"There has to be another reason," said Bella. "They can't have given up. She has to come back."

"Not if she doesn't want to," said Edward.

"But she does want to," argued Bella. "She told me as much just a few days ago."

"Why would she have changed her mind?" asked Emmett.

"I'll bet she didn't," said Edward. "She may want to come back, but she's probably still under the impression that she has to stay and take care of her mother." Edward sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his messy, bronze hair.

"What is it, Edward?" asked Bella.

"I respect that she feels duty-bound to stay, I really do. But if she stays there, not only is she going to lose all hope for a future, but she's going to spend so much time working that sooner or later, she's going to hurt herself physically."

"Whoa, hang on there!" interrupted Rosalie. "What do you mean hurt herself physically?"

"Damn," muttered Edward. That had slipped out before he could stop himself.

"Spill it, Cullen," spat out Rosalie. "What did you mean just now?"

Edward sighed again and said, "before she ran away, Alice didn't get nearly enough to eat."

"We all know that, Edward," said Bella, shrugging her shoulders.

"Yeah," said Rosalie. "She was so skinny, I couldn't help but say something to her. It was obvious to all of us that even for her size, she was underweight."

"It's actually more serious than that," said Edward. "All she ate on a daily basis was some cereal or a couple pieces of toast for breakfast and a microwave dinner at night. She didn't ever eat lunch and occasionally, she'd have a snack in between jobs. She didn't have enough money or enough time to feed herself."

"What!" shouted Bella and Rosalie together.

"Edward, you can't be serious," said Emmett, who'd gone as pale as a ghost when he heard how bad a state his younger sister had been in when she came to Forks.

"Unfortunately, I am," said Edward.

"If she goes back to those eating habits, she'll lose all the weight she gained while she was here," said Bella. "I'll bet one of the reasons she got so sick was because her body was responding to the fact that she'd eaten more in a month than she had in almost a year. That could be dangerous if she drastically starts losing weight."

"Should we tell Mom and Dad about this?" asked Emmett.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you three," said Edward. "She wanted it kept a secret."

"Let's definitely not tell Esme then," said Rosalie. "She'd probably faint."

"I'm not telling Jasper either," added Edward.

"Or Carlisle," said Bella. "They'd all have a fit, Carlisle especially."

"What do you mean Carlisle especially?" asked Rosalie. "Jasper would die if he heard how unhealthily Alice was eating."

"Carlisle would start thinking of all the health problems that go with not eating," said Bella. "They'd all run through his mind like that," and she snapped her fingers for emphasis. "I know he wouldn't say anything so as not to upset us, but that'd probably be enough to make him turn around and drag her back here, just to make sure she got enough to eat. On second thought, maybe we should tell him if it'll get her back here somehow."

"Mom would already be on the plane before he could even move," said Emmett.

"Jasper would reach Chicago first," said Rosalie.

"If the three of them should find out about this, Alice should tell them herself," said Edward.

"Right," said the other three.

"Why would Alice want to stay there if she doesn't get enough to eat?" asked Bella.

"Like I said, she feels duty-bound to stay and take care of her mother," said Edward.

"She feels duty-bound to act like an idiot," said Rosalie heatedly. "She can't stay there with no food, no family and no future."

"Did Jasper actually say she wasn't coming?" asked Emmett.

"No, he just said that we'd have to wait and see," said Rose.

"Well, maybe she is coming," said Emmett, trying to take the optimistic approach.

"I hope so, for his sake," said Rose.

"You really don't think Jasper would do something to hurt himself, do you?" asked Bella.

"I think he would," said Edward. "If something happened to Alice, it'd be impossible to get through to him. He'd just drift into his own little world and probably die of a broken heart, if he didn't do something else to end his misery before that happened."

"All we can do is hope then," said Bella. "What time will they be home, Rose?"

"About three o'clock," replied Rose. "Their plane lands in Seattle about noon and they'll be home sometime close to three."

"Should we go to the airport and meet them?" asked Bella.

"Let's just wait here," said Edward. "We'll get the house cleaned up and ready for their arrival."

None of them could really concentrate on their work. They cleaned, polished, scrubbed and made the house look spiffy clean, so at least Esme would have something good to come home to. Well, Edward, Bella and Rose cleaned up, Emmett maintained that he was supervising, while really he locked himself in his playroom and started playing a few rounds of Guitar Hero. He wouldn't come out until Rosalie knocked on the door and said they were going out for fast food. But even he got booed off the stage many times, which never happened to him. All of their minds were on Alice and whether or not she had decided to come home and live out her days with them.

The next day passed slowly, almost too slowly. They all tried to find something to occupy themselves, but nothing really worked. Bella and Edward went for a walk in the woods out to their meadow. They always went whenever they needed some time alone, but it didn't help them to escape the real world, not this time. They came back to the house pretty soon and Edward sat at his piano and played for Bella and Rosalie, but that didn't help either. Rosalie spent some time at her vanity, trying three new hairstyles, but she decided she hated all of them and just let her hair hang down her shoulders naturally. They'd looked good enough in the magazine she'd seen them in, and she knew the only reason she didn't like them now was because she was too busy thinking of Alice. Emmett played more video games, but he lost badly because he just couldn't concentrate.

Finally at about ten minutes 'til three, Bella looked out the living room window and saw Carlisle's Mercedes pulling into the driveway. She could clearly see Carlisle and Esme in the front seat, but she couldn't see if Alice was in the back or not.

"They're back!" she yelled for the others to hear as she made her way into the kitchen. Edward, Emmett and Rosalie joined her and they waited at the end of the hall that led to the garage door to see if the last member of their family was back. The door opened, footsteps progressed down the hall and Carlisle and Esme appeared. They hugged and kissed their children and all looked back down the hallway. Jasper appeared there and Alice was on his arm.

There was a moment of silence and then it was as though the volume meter had been turned up to its loudest setting.

"Alice!" shouted Bella and Rosalie together, dashing towards her. They reached her at the same time and pulled her into a group hug, both girls breathing easy for the first time in two days and Alice trying to breathe period.

"Uh guys, I'm going to need to breathe at some point here," she rasped out.

"Sorry," said Bella and Rosalie together.

"We're just so happy to see you!" said Bella, throwing her arms around her "sister" again.

"It's good to see you too," said Alice, hugging Bella back.

"Jasper, I hate you!" said Rosalie suddenly, smacking him upside the head.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the spot where she'd hit him.

"You made me think she wasn't coming!" replied Rosalie. "You just said, "you'll just have to wait and see.' The tone of your voice made me think she'd said no. I nearly had a panic attack. How could you do that to me?"

"Sorry Rose, but I wanted it to be a surprise," said Jasper.

"Don't blame him, Rose," said Alice. "The look on your face when I came in was priceless."

"I'm not going to forgive either of you for this," grumbled Rose.

Edward rolled his eyes at her and walked forward to greet Alice, but Emmett got there first.

"The pixie's back," he said, picking Alice up and spinning her once. "Hey little sis."

"Hey Emmett, I missed you too," said Alice, who was glad that Emmett was watching his strength and not unintentionally crushing her. He let her go so that Edward could come forward and say hello.

He wrapped his arms gently around her and said, "welcome home, Alice."

"Thanks Edward," she said.

The rest of that day was spent just enjoying each other's company. Carlisle ordered Chinese for everyone to eat that night and they sat in the living room with it, while watching The Illusionist. After she'd finished eating, Alice settled herself comfortably next to Jasper and laid her head in the crook of his neck. His arms came around her waist and he rested his head on top of hers and she distinctly heard him emit a contented sigh. She smiled at that. She knew he was just as glad they were together again as she was and they wouldn't be separated again no matter what. It wasn't long after the movie started that she fell asleep. The jetlag plus all the excitement of the last few days had made it so she could barely keep her eyes open and nestled up against Jasper like that made it impossible for her to resist falling asleep. The next thing she knew she felt herself moving up a set of stairs. She also felt a pair of strong arms around her, one under her legs, the other cushioning her head. She opened her eyes a little and saw that Jasper was carrying her upstairs, smiling softly as he looked down at her.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," he teased lightly.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked groggily.

"About an hour, you didn't make it through the whole movie," replied Jasper as he reached the top of the stairs. "What you need is good night's sleep."

"Hmmhmm," muttered Alice, who was already on her way back to sleep.

Jasper carried her into her room and laid her down in bed. He took her shoes off for her, pulled the covers back and gently tucked them over her, placing a small kiss on her lips before starting to exit the room. He was almost to the door when he heard a little voice call out, "Jasper."

He was back by her side in an instant. "What is it, darlin'?" he asked.

"Stay with me please," she whispered.

To say Jasper was shocked by this would be an understatement. He hesitated, debating inside his head what he should do. His head was saying to him, "don't, this is trouble. You're a good Southern gentleman and good Southern gentlemen don't just lie in bed with ladies. You have to respect her, give her space. Go back to your room, go." But his heart was screaming at him, "she needs you and you need her. What if you wake up and find this was all a dream? You need to wake up next to her to prove that it wasn't. Don't pretend that's not true. You're not taking advantage of her, you're just cuddling up in bed next to her. What's wrong with that?"

He was just about to do the sensible and respectful thing, which was go back to his own room, but then Alice said to him, "please Jazzy. I need you."

Jasper sighed in defeat and thought to himself, "damn it, how can I say no to that?"

"Okay, darlin'," he whispered. He walked around to the other side of the bed, kicked his shoes off and laid down, pulling the covers around himself as well. He kept his distance from her for a few minutes, but she had other plans. She stayed awake just long enough to see him get in bed, then she scooted up next to him, rolled over so she was laying on her side, placed one arm around him, laid the other one on his chest and rested her head on his shoulder. Jasper tensed for a second, but then relaxed as he realized he liked having her this close. He sighed and closed his eyes, sleep overtaking both of them very quickly.

Both slept in the next morning. Alice was the first to wake up. She just laid in bed for several minutes with her eyes closed after waking, because she didn't want to move just yet. She was so warm, so comfortable. She opened her eyes and looked up at Jasper. He was still asleep. Neither of them had moved during the night, except that he had shifted a little towards her in his sleep and wrapped an arm around her waist. She felt a weight on the arm that was spread across his chest and when she raised her head, she saw that his other arm was lying on top of it. She laid her head back and looked up at his face. He was smiling slightly in his sleep.

"He must be having a good dream," she thought to herself. "I wonder what it's about." She felt sleep beginning to overtake her again and she closed her eyes. And when they both woke up again later, she didn't think to ask him if he had been dreaming or not.

Alice slept for about another forty-five minutes and as she was stirring, she felt a hand lightly rubbing the side of her face. She opened her eyes and saw that Jasper was looking down at her, running his fingers back and forth across her cheek.

"Good morning," he whispered, giving her one of his charming smiles that never failed to make her heart rate speed up.

"Good morning, Jazzy," she whispered back, making him chuckle a little.

"Seriously," he said. "Where did you come up with that nickname?"

"You don't like it?" she asked, a little pout forming on her lips.

"I don't mind it when it's just the two of us, but I'd rather Emmett never heard it," he replied.

Alice shrugged and said, "okay, that sounds reasonable. Besides, I think it suits you."

"Speaking of names," he said suddenly. "I've been meaning to ask, what do I call you now? Brandon or Cullen?"

"Remember the night before our date?" she asked. He nodded. "You said the name Alice Cullen suits me. I think you're right. I signed the change-of-name papers Alice Brandon-Cullen, but when people say my name, I want them to call me Alice Cullen. I just love it."

"I love hearing you say it, though I think another…" said Jasper, but he stopped himself before he could finish his thought.

"What is it, Jasper?" asked Alice.

"Nothing," he stammered, as red as a tomato. She looked concerned for a minute, but decided to let it drop, which he was grateful for. He didn't want her to know that he had been thinking that the name Alice Hale sounded good on her too.

Finally, they decided they had to get up, but neither wanted to leave the warm, comforting feel of the other's embrace. But when their quiet morning was interrupted, they knew they had to get out of bed. They were just lying in bed looking at each other, words not needed, when the door banged open and before they knew it, Emmett had charged across the room and was sitting cross-legged on the foot of the bed.

"There you two are," he said, a goofy grin on his face as his eyes darted between the two of them. "We've all been wondering what happened to you guys and here's the answer. Have any fun last night?"

"Of course not, Emmett," said Jasper, extremely irritated. He'd jerked away from Alice out of shock when Emmett had come charging in on them. "In case you didn't notice, we're both still fully dressed."

"Where's the fun in that?" asked Emmett.

Jasper rolled his eyes and said, "it was more to prove that Alice coming back wasn't a dream. Now could you please get off? I'm starting to lose the feeling in my feet."

Emmett looked down and only then realized he was sitting on Jasper's feet. "Sorry Jazz," he said, standing up.

"Fine," said Jasper gruffly, but both Alice and Emmett could clearly see him rolling his ankles to try and get the circulation back in his feet and Alice had the suspicion he was checking for broken bones as well.

"Come on downstairs when you're ready, Mom saved you some breakfast," said Emmett, winking at them before exiting the room.

Jasper groaned and said, "I've always thought of Emmett as my brother, but sometimes he really drives me nuts. He loves jumping in on Edward and Bella whenever they want a private moment alone, now he's going to do the same to us."

"Maybe we should give him a taste of his own medicine," said Alice.

"Not a good idea," said Jasper. "Trust me, when he wants to be alone with Rose, they should stay alone." They wanted to stay in bed for the rest of the morning, but their peaceful, comfortable moment had been shattered by Emmett charging in, so they decided they may as well get up. Jasper went into his own room, showered and changed clothes, thinking all the while of how perfect it had felt holding Alice in his arms like that. He wanted to be able to claim her as his someday, but he knew that wouldn't be for awhile, not until he knew she was ready for it.

He was dressed and ready to join the others a long time before Alice was. It didn't take her long to get cleaned up and to dry her hair, but it took her ages to pick out an outfit. She dug through all the outfits she'd bought on her many excursions with Bella and Rosalie before finding one that amazingly enough, she hadn't yet worn.

"I'm running out of new clothes," she thought to herself. "Oh man, this is bad. Gotta go shopping."

But then she stopped. That particular attitude had also contributed to her father leaving. He complained about her frequent shopping trips and how she was spending so much money unnecessarily. Eventually, he'd had to cut up her credit card and forbid her from getting another one for a whole six months until he got his finances back under control. Alice had suffered greatly during those six months. She'd had to get what pleasure she could out of shopping with cash when she had cash. But towards the end of the six month mark was when her father had left, so she didn't have time to go shopping after that, not between school and her jobs.

"All right, let's try and limit the shopping if we can," she said. But she knew that was a lost cause. She'd always be addicted to shopping, though she decided if she could manage it to never spend more than a set amount of money per trip. She finished getting ready, then met Jasper out in the hallway.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you could've gone on downstairs if you wanted," she said.

Jasper pretended to think and said, "let's see, walk downstairs by myself or with a lovely lady on my arm. Which do I want to go with?" He then held his arm out to her and she giggled before taking it. They walked downstairs together to join, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett in the kitchen.

"Where is everyone?" asked Jasper, sitting down in the breakfast nook.

"Carlisle's at work and Edward took Bella out for a picnic," replied Esme, picking up two plates of sausage and biscuits and setting them in front of Alice and Jasper. "You two sure slept in. It's after 11:00."

"Is it really?" asked Alice, looking over at the clock on the microwave. Sure enough, it read 11:08. "I didn't realize we slept that late."

"Not just slept," said Emmett. But a slap on one side from Rosalie and on the other from Jasper made him shut up really quickly. "Would you guys lighten up? I was only joking."

"Please don't joke about something that didn't happen," said Jasper, noticing that Alice had gone red in the face.

"He's right, Emmett," said Esme, also noticing that Alice had gone red. "That really isn't funny. Let's talk about something else. What do you kids have planned for the day?"

"We're late actually," said Rosalie, standing up. "Emmett and I are going to a concert in the park in Port Angeles. Some kind of local rock group is playing and if we don't leave now, we're going to miss it."

"Have fun and drive safely," called Esme as Rose and Emmett headed out to the garage.

Suddenly, Rose turned around and headed back into the kitchen.

"What is it, Rose?" asked Jasper.

"I honestly can't believe I'm about to do this," said Rosalie, and she held out her key ring.

"What are you doing?" asked Jasper, looking at the key chain dangling from her index finger.

"We're taking Emmett's jeep to Port Angeles," replied Rosalie. "If you two want to go out anywhere today, you can take my BMW. I'd make you take your motorcycle, Jazz, but it's back at the house and you'd need the car to get back there, so you may as well just take my car."

"I thought no one drove that car but you," said Jasper, clearly enjoying watching her squirm.

"Don't get used to it, it's a onetime thing," said Rosalie. "When Alice gets her own car, you'll be able to use that."

"I don't know if I'll ever be able to get my own car," said Alice.

"Oh that reminds me," said Esme. She reached over and picked up a little booklet off the counter. "Edward found this in his room last night. He asked me to give it to you." And she handed Alice an old driver's manual. "Study that and when you're ready, I'll take you to get your learner's permit."

"Really?" asked Alice.

Esme nodded and said, "also be thinking of what kind of car you want. Carlisle's already looking at choices for you."

Alice thought she might faint. "You're kidding."

"She's not," said Rosalie. "That's the sort of person Carlisle is. He's offered to buy new cars for Jasper and I as well, but I love my car and Jasper just wants his motorcycle."

She was cut off by Jasper grabbing the key ring off her finger. He tossed it once in the air, caught in his left hand and said, "I'm going to have fun with this."

"Jasper Ryan Hale," said Rosalie warningly. "If you so as much as dent my car…"

"I'll be killed, I know," said Jasper, finishing her sentence for her. "Don't worry, Rose. I'm not going to do anything to hurt your car."

She was going to say something else, but Emmett steered her down the hallway before she could, knowing a Rosalie/Jasper fight coming when he saw one. He just yelled "bye!" to them and shut the garage door. A minute later, they heard the sound of his jeep roaring down the driveway.

"What do you two think you're going to do today?" asked Esme.

"Definitely go out someplace," said Jasper, eyeing Rosalie's key ring fondly.

"Well just be safe," said Esme. "I don't want to hear you've gotten in a fight with another pair of thugs."

"If I do, I'll beat them," said Jasper. "I'm not going to let them get me again, don't worry."

"Jasper," said Alice, which told him he should change the subject.

"Sorry Alice," he said, knowing she didn't like being reminded of the incident in Port Angeles or of the repeat in Chicago.

"Where do you want to go?" she asked him.

"I'll show you," he said. "Esme, can you pack us a picnic as well?"

"Of course, dear," she said, going to the pantry and pulling out a picnic basket. She and Alice made some sandwiches and packed a few bags of chips and some other snacks until there was a decent sized lunch inside it. Jasper took the basket and walked out to the garage with Alice, calling "bye!" to Esme as he went. Alice got into the passenger's seat of the BMW, while Jasper got into the driver's seat, emitting a sigh of pleasure as he did.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked. She nodded. "Sometimes when Rose goes out with Emmett, he comes to pick her up in the jeep and occasionally I snag her keys from her and go for a ride in the BMW. This is the first time I've ever driven it with her permission."

"What's wrong with your motorcycle?" asked Alice, as he revved up the engine. She leaned back in her seat as he pulled out of the driveway, glad to see that for once the sun was shining.

"I love my motorcycle, but sometimes I just want to go for a ride in an actual car," replied Jasper. "It's more comfortable than sitting astride a bike. And anyway, I love this car as much as Rose does."

"I won't tell her," said Alice.

"Now is there anything you want to tell me?" he asked her then.

"Such as?" asked Alice uneasily

"Perhaps why the first time you came to Forks, you wolfed down everything in sight? You did it again last night too. And why did Edward, Emmett, Bella and Rose stare at you as though making sure you ate all your food? I've also noticed in the ten days before Carlisle, Esme and I showed up in Chicago, you lost a good bit of the weight you gained when you were here."

Alice suddenly realized where he was going with this. He was asking her about her eating habits back in Chicago. Edward must have accidentally let something slip. She knew he'd never tell anyone out of the blue, but if one of the others, namely either Bella or Jasper forced it out of him, then they'd all know it by now.

"How did you find out?" she asked.

"I don't quite know what you mean," he said. "All I know is that Emmett whispered in my ear after you fell asleep to ask you about how much you'd eat on a daily basis in Chicago. I don't really see how that's any of his business or how he came to ask that question, but once I started thinking about it, I realized that something had to be up because when you first arrived, it was as though you'd never seen food in your life."

Alice sighed and said, "you might want to pull over for this."

"I hate conversations that start like that," said Jasper as he pulled over to the side of the road. Alice looked at their surroundings and saw they were in the middle of nowhere, trees surrounding them on all sides, so there wasn't a chance of them being interrupted. Jasper turned to face her and said, "so why did I have to pull over?"

"Because when you heard this, you would've jerked the car to a stop and maybe hit something," replied Alice. She took a deep breath and told him about how much she'd had to eat on a regular basis in Chicago. When she was done, Jasper was gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands and his knuckles were turning white.

"What?" he whispered in a voice of deadly calm.

"It's true," she said. "I barely had time to eat. When I had time, I either didn't have food or money."

"What about your mother?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" asked Alice. "She went out to the bar every night, had something to eat and then got stoned. She got enough to eat while part of my savings went towards groceries. Even then, I couldn't afford much. I had to eat sparingly to make the food last longer, but that didn't work either 'cause Mom usually ate it."

"Why didn't you tell me that when you first arrived?" he asked. "You lied about getting a good dinner the night before the plane ride, Rose and I both saw that. But if we'd known you hadn't been eating that much, Rose would've served you more for lunch than just a bowl of soup and Esme would've fed you a meal worthy of a queen. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't want any fuss made over it. Even that first night, I was already toying with the notion of leaving for San Francisco because I didn't want to get close to you guys. I was convinced you'd send me away the instant you knew that I had run away from home. I just wanted things to be peaceful for a little while before I had to leave again."

Jasper grabbed her hand so hard, she gasped out of surprise and turned to look at him. There was passion burning in his eyes, an angry determination that she'd never seen there before. "You are never leaving again. You're going to spend the rest of your days here with us and I'm never letting you eat as little as that again. Who knows how much longer it would've been before your body shut down from the lack of food? Just promise me you aren't going to hurt yourself by doing something like that, okay?

"I promise," she said. "And please promise me that you won't tell Carlisle and Esme. They'd both have a fit."

Jasper sighed and said, "I promise." He put the car back in drive and pulled back out onto the road, but he was still gripping the steering wheel harder than necessary and his eyes were fixed on a tree ahead, as though he wanted to rip it down with his bare hands.

Alice placed a hand over one of his and said, "Jasper, please calm down."

"You expect me to be calm after telling me you weren't eating at all in Chicago?" asked Jasper tensely. "Your mother should've taken better care of you. She shouldn't have left you to fend for yourself."

"It's over, Jazzy," said Alice. "I'm here and I'm always going to be here with you. And I promise I'm not going to just stop eating out of the blue. You have nothing to worry about." Jasper still didn't look convinced. "Please calm down, Jazzy," she said, rubbing little circles into the back of his hand. He relaxed, but they sat in silence for several minutes until one of them could think of something to say to change the subject.

"So where are we going?" asked Alice.

"You'll see," said Jasper tensely, still thinking of how he should have found Alice sooner and rescued her from her old life.

"Come on, tell me," she said, scooting up a little closer to him. "Please."

Jasper couldn't help but smile at that. "Just wait. I'd like to be able to surprise you."

"Just give me a hint," she said. He shook his head no, a grin back on his face.

"You don't want me to spoil the surprise, do you?" he asked.

"Please," she said. She curled her lip in a little pout and said, "please Jazzy."

Jasper tried his hardest not to look at her when he heard that. He could hear the pout clearly in her voice, if he looked at her, he'd tell her in a second where they were going. "Don't look at her, keep driving. Don't look at her, keep driving. Don't look at her, keep driving," he chanted in his head. Alice gave a dramatic sigh and sat back, thinking she may as well just be surprised. They drove for a few more minutes until Jasper suddenly turned off the main road and down a nearby path, very similar to the Cullen's driveway.

"Okay, seriously Jazzy, where are we?" asked Alice. He just kept quiet. The trees thinned out a minute later and Jasper parked the car close to where they ended. There was a cliff up ahead, but Alice couldn't see past it. Jasper got out of the car and walked around the front of it to open Alice's door for her. He then moved behind her and placed his hands over her eyes.

"Jasper, I can't see a thing," she said.

"That's the idea," he replied. "Just walk where I guide you. I'm not going to let you fall."

She felt him nudge her forward and she moved onward a few steps. She moved slowly since she couldn't see if there were rocks or anything in her path. A couple times, she heard Jasper say, "watch out, there's a small hole right there," and she felt her foot land on what felt like a chipmunk's den. But she didn't fall and she knew it was because Jasper was there to protect her. Finally, she felt him push her back a little towards himself and she knew to stop walking.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded eagerly. He removed his hands and she gasped at the most glorious sight she'd ever seen. Before her eyes lay the whole of the forest surrounding Forks. She could see every tree clearly, their branches dancing in the warm summer wind, creeping up the mountain in the distance. And directly ahead of her was the ocean. She could almost see the beach, but she wasn't close enough to smell the sea air or to hear the surf crashing against the sand. The sun shining down on the scenery gave the whole landscape a kind of ethereal quality, a magic that could only ever be found in fairytales. She loved it.

"Jasper, it's breathtaking," she said. "How did you find this?"

"Once when I was just driving around out here, I came across it," he replied. "No one else in the family knows about it. So I thought it could just be our place. I would've brought you up here later to see it in the sunset, but I wanted you to see it in the sunshine as well."

"Can we stay up here all day?" she asked.

"If you want to, darlin'," he said smiling. They sat down in the grass together, just chatting aimlessly about anything that came to mind. Mostly though, they just sat in silence, stared out at the landscape and just enjoyed each other's company. A couple hours after they got there, Jasper got their picnic basket out of the back of the car, spread a blanket over the grass and they sat down to eat. They spent the entire afternoon out there and when it got to be about sunset, Alice laid down on her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows. Jasper did the same. The sky was filled with so many shades of red and gold, blending together into a scene so beautiful that no matter how many times he tried to paint it, an artist would never be able to quite achieve the perfection it had. The sun shone down on the ocean water, expanding the palette of colors so much that Alice felt as though she had been enveloped in a world of red, orange and gold and it was so magnificent that she never wanted to leave it. But what made this moment perfect was that she was sharing it with Jasper, her one true love.

"Thank you for bring me out here, Jazzy," she said. "I love it."

"I knew you would," he said. "I'll bring you out here as often as you want."

She smiled and said, "there's only one thing I love more than this place."

"What's that?" he asked, though he already knew what she was going to say.

"You," she whispered to him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, Ali," he said. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his. The kiss was soft at first, but it turned passionate as the seconds progressed. Jasper pulled back when the need for air became too great, but Alice wasn't ready for them to part yet. She put one hand on the back of his head and kissed him again, her hand keeping him from pulling away. He wrapped his arms around her waist and her other arm went around his neck, closing any space that was left between them. Jasper ran his tongue along Alice's bottom lip and she shivered before opening her mouth and letting him in. She felt his lips curve upwards in a smile as his tongue explored every inch of her mouth.

All too soon, he pulled away from her, but not because of the fact that he needed to breathe. He was afraid of what he might do if he let this continue. He broke the kiss, trying to ignore the small whine of protest that escaped Alice's lips.

"We should be getting back," he whispered. "The others will be wondering where we are."

Alice nodded and allowed him to help her up and together they walked back to the BMW. Jasper opened her door for her and she got in, watching him walk around to the driver's seat and hop in. He started the engine, turned the car around and began the drive back to the Cullen house. Alice laid her hand, palm face up, on the armrest and Jasper clasped his hand around hers. Neither of them said anything, because words weren't needed. The silence said everything for them. When they got back to the Cullen residence, they found the rest of the family gathered in the living room chatting about how their days had gone.

"There you are," said Esme, when they walked in the door. "We were starting to worry about you two."

"You were starting to worry about them, Mom," said Emmett, but he shut up after Carlisle shot a warning look at him.

Rosalie got up, walked towards her brother and held her hand out to him. Jasper took the hint and dropped her key ring in her palm. She then went out to the garage just to check that no damage had been done to her precious car. Jasper rolled his eyes at her and he and Alice sat down on the loveseat.

"Bella, Edward, how was your picnic?" asked Alice.

"Great, I only tripped once on the hike out to our picnic spot," said Bella, referring, of course, to her and Edward's meadow. They'd gone back out there today and the atmosphere couldn't have been more different than the previous day. This time, they hadn't had a care in the world and were just able to enjoy themselves.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Bella?" said Edward. "I'll catch you when you fall."

"You had a picnic basket in your arms, how were you supposed to catch me?" she asked.

"But I still caught you, that's the point," said Edward and Bella sighed when she saw she'd lost the argument.

Alice was about to ask something else when Rosalie's voice carried over from the garage into the living room. "JASPER RYAN HALE, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE THIS INSTANT!" She was screaming so loudly, Alice was pretty sure there were people in Seattle who heard her.

"What did I do?" asked Jasper, looking up as though asking God what he had done. He got up and walked out to the garage to see what Rosalie was so angry about. They listened for a second, which wasn't hard considering she was still screaming.

"Look at this!" she shouted. "I told you not to so much as dent my car! You're going to pay for this! You're paying to get it removed and you're forbidden from touching it for at least the next two months!"

They couldn't hear what Jasper said. He tried not to shout when he avoided it and he was hoping that speaking calmly like that would calm his sister down, but it took several minutes of coaxing before her temper settled a bit. When the two of them came back in, Rosalie walked right past them all up the stairs to her room. For a second, Alice expected steam to come out of her ears. Jasper sat down next to Alice with an exhausted grunt.

"What's the matter with her?" asked Edward, looking at Jasper with raised eyebrows.

"She was angry because something scratched her car, probably a tree branch," said Jasper, and Alice realized that when they were driving down the forest path to the cliff, something might have scratched the surface of the paint job. "I don't know why she's freaking out. It's only like this big." And he held up his thumb and forefinger, keeping them about an inch apart to show the size of the scratch. "It's nothing to get worked up over."

"Knowing Rosie, she would get worked up over something like that on her car," said Emmett, shaking his head. "I'll go up and talk to her."

"You might want some earplugs," suggested Jasper. "There's some in the drawer of my nightstand if you want to borrow a pair." Seeing everyone's raised eyebrows, he said, "you're not the ones who have to live with her on a daily basis. When we get home, I occasionally have to listen to her screaming about something or other. I keep those on days when I can't get her to calm down." They all nodded in understanding. Jasper could calm just about anyone, but Rosalie was a tough cookie. Emmett went upstairs to Jasper's room and snagged a pair of earplugs just in case and then went to talk to his girlfriend. They came downstairs about half an hour later, but she was still fuming slightly. Alice shook her head at her sister, thinking all the while that there was never a dull day in this place.

-----------

The months passed quickly for the Cullen family. A couple weeks after her return to Forks, Esme took Alice to get her learner's permit and she passed the test with flying colors. Carlisle started taking her into large empty parking lots or old country roads with no traffic where it was good for her to practice. Occasionally, Edward would give her a driving lesson as well, which Alice didn't mind because she got to drive both the Mercedes and the Volvo. She couldn't decide which she liked more. She wished she could drive Rosalie's BMW, but Rosalie wasn't letting anyone drive it but her since Jasper had "damaged" it, as she liked to say. But Alice didn't mind as long as she was learning to drive period.

Carlisle got Alice enrolled in school at Forks High and she started her senior year along with Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie. Bella and Edward were going into their junior year. Her first day, Alice got a lot of stares from the rest of the student body. Some of them had seen her around town, but didn't think she'd be sticking around for too long. When word got around that she was Dr. Cullen's latest adopted daughter, people got used to seeing her, but many of the girls shot her jealous looks when they saw how close she was to Jasper.

By the time Christmas arrived, Alice was the happiest girl in all of Forks. She had a family who loved her, a boyfriend who would move heaven and earth for her, and a place she could always call home. What more could she possibly want? Perhaps more time to shop, but nothing else than that.

She had never had more fun at Christmastime than she had that year. Carlisle took her out to get her driver's license in the second week of December, then it was back to the Cullen house to get ready for the holidays. Christmas was Carlisle and Esme's favorite holiday and they always decorated the house and put up a tree and did everything Christmas related. Emmett, Jasper and Edward put the tree up and they and Carlisle hung up a bunch of the decorations, all of them tall enough to reach some of the higher places where they put decorations. The girls all put ornaments on the tree and did what decorating they could, but the boys had to help with a bunch of it.

When they were almost done decorating the tree, Esme said, "all that's left is the angel."

Carlisle put his arm around her and said, "I think Alice should put it on the tree this year."

"What?" asked Alice.

"I think that's a great idea," said Bella, going over to stand next to Edward.

"It's your first Christmas with us, Alice," said Edward, placing his arm around Bella's shoulders. "It's only right that you put the angel on the tree."

"Just one problem with that," said Alice. "Even if I had a ladder, I wouldn't be able to reach the top of the tree. How am I supposed to…" But she was cut off by Jasper gently taking her around the waist and lifting her up off her feet.

"That's what I'm here for, darlin'," he said, giving her one of his gorgeous Texas smiles.

"Okay," she said, trying to get her breath back. Esme handed her the angel and Jasper, who was tall enough to reach the top of the tree, lifted Alice into his arms and held her up so she could reach it as well. She still had to stretch her arm as far as she could, but she managed to get it up on the top of the tree and the rest of the family applauded as Jasper set her back on her feet.

The next couple days were spent cooking for a large holiday party that the Cullen's held every year, where Carlisle invited several of his work colleagues, Esme invited her clients and a couple close friends from school came as well. The only other teenagers really that were there were Angela, her boyfriend, Ben Cheney and Jacob. He brought a friend of his from La Push, Leah Clearwater, as well. They seemed to be doing well together, which made Bella happy to see that Jacob had finally found a girl and made Edward very happy since Jacob would no longer be trying to steal Bella from him. When they arrived, Jacob walked forward to shake hands with Alice.

"So you're the famous Alice?" he asked. "Bella's told me a lot about you."

"Has she?" asked Alice, glancing over at her sister.

"Did she tell you I was the one who persuaded her to call you after you went back to Chicago?" asked Jacob.

"No, she didn't," said Alice. "He told you to call me?" she asked, turning to face Bella.

"Well, I was debating whether to call your or not and he just told me to," replied Bella.

"So in a way, you're home because I told Bells to call you and that set off the chain of events leading to your return," said Jacob, not bothering to hide how proud he was of himself.

"Modest much, Jacob," said Leah, turning and rolling her eyes at Bella. The two girls laughed together, knowing just how modest Jacob could be sometimes. They enjoyed the party that night, all just hanging out together.

On Christmas Day, Alice woke up and immediately went straight to her window. She smiled as she saw the blanket of snow that was now covering the backyard. It was so beautiful. Forks was a much better winter wonderland than Chicago ever had been. She loved it. She went downstairs, not able to sleep any longer and saw that Esme was already awake, making breakfast for everyone.

"Merry Christmas, Alice," said Esme, coming forward to give her a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Esme," said Alice, wrapping her arms around her foster mother. She needed to remember to call her real mother and wish her a Merry Christmas as well. She wished they could be together for Christmas, but when Carlisle called Meredith Brandon to see if she'd like to join them, she said no, but she needed to stay at home. Alice had the sneaking suspicion she didn't want to be around any of the Cullen children, who would all start accusing her of being a horrible mother the second they saw her. Alice sighed. She wished her mother would see that the Cullen's weren't people that easily blamed someone else for anything, with the possible exception of Rosalie that is.

When the smell of food began wafting towards the upstairs is when the rest of the family came down to join them. Emmett bounded down the stairs, but other than that, everyone came down quietly. They sat in the breakfast nook and chatted while they ate, then went into the living room to start opening presents. Bella, Rosalie and Alice had mostly bought each other new clothes, all of which they loved, except for when Bella found a particularly short dress she didn't really care for. But she hid how much she disliked it easily and said thank you to her friends. Alice watched as everyone opened their gifts, saw Carlisle smile at the new watch she'd bought him, saw Esme's face light up at a new bracelet, Emmett give a whoop of delight at a video game he'd been eying, Edward smile as he looked at the song lists on the back of two new CD's and Jasper's face as he got a book full of guitar music.

"Thank you Alice," he said, skimming through the book. Alice knew he loved playing his guitar whenever he wanted and she loved even more listening to him.

Alice also loved the gifts she received, the new clothes from Bella and Rosalie, a couple pairs of earrings from Edward and some CD's from Emmett. She then unwrapped a small box from Jasper and saw a heart-shaped locket, glittering in the candlelight. When she opened it, she saw a little mirror on one side and a picture of her and Jasper on the other. To be precise, it was a smaller version of the picture that was on Carlisle's desk, the one he had looked at when he was buying the plane tickets for Chicago.

"Jasper, it's beautiful, thank you," she said, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek.

"No, you're beautiful, sweetheart," he said, making her blush. He took the locket from her hands and gently clasped it around her neck, kissing her on the side of the head as he did.

After everyone else had opened their presents, Carlisle stood up and said, "Alice, I'd like you to come outside for a minute please."

Alice raised her eyebrows at him and followed him towards the door. Just as she reached it, Jasper's hands covered her eyes and she sighed as she realized this had to be a surprise. She let him guide her a few paces out the door before she was allowed to open her eyes. She screamed in delight when she saw what was waiting there for her. Sitting in the driveway was a brand new, bright yellow Porsche 911 Turbo, just begging for her to get in the driver's seat and take a test drive.

"I love it!" she screamed into the morning air. "Can I take her for a drive?"

Carlisle dangled the keys in front of her face and said, "it's all yours."

Alice gave another squeal, grabbed the keys and ran across the lawn towards her car. She didn't even care that her feet were cold and she didn't have shoes on. She got in the driver's seat of her new car and buckled up, her nose at once bombarded with that new car smell. The passenger door opened and Jasper slipped in next to her.

"Do you want some company?" he asked.

"You know I do," said Alice.

"Wait for us!" yelled a chorus of voices. The back doors opened and the other four Cullen children piled into the backseat. Rosalie had to sit on Emmett's lap because it was such a tight fit.

"You guys, we can't all fit in here," said Alice.

"Sure we can," said Rosalie, but she had to admit it was a tight fit.

Alice sighed and started the car, loving the way the engine purred to life. She smiled as she put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway. Carlisle and Esme watched them go, both smiling broadly.

"I think she likes it," said Carlisle.

"I think she does," said Esme, her ears still ringing from Alice's scream.

Alice drove the car for about ten minutes around the country roads before she brought it back to the Cullen place. She wasn't able to go very fast because the roads were icy, but she loved it when she did accelerate. When she pulled into the garage, she pulled into the now available space in between Emmett's Jeep and Rosalie's BMW. They all went back inside the house, laughing and smiling about the new addition to the Cullen cars.

When they got back in the living room, they found Carlisle and Esme standing by the mantel piece smiling at them. Jasper gently pushed Alice further into the room and they all came in to stand around her.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"We have one more gift for you from all of us," replied Jasper.

"What is it?" she asked.

Esme came forward, holding a little box in her hands. "Alice, this is to you from all of us."

Alice took the box and when she opened it, she felt tears well up in her eyes. It was the Cullen crest on a piece of ribbon that went around her neck like a choker. She remembered when Jasper had shown her his wristband and said that she might someday get one of these crests as well.

"You're officially part of the family now, Alice," said Carlisle. "Welcome home."

"Oh Carlisle," said Alice. She threw her arms around him and Esme, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks at everything they had done for her these last few minutes. Both of them wrapped an arm around her and she felt everyone join in the group hug as well with her in the center. When they all broke apart, she placed the choker around her neck as well.

"That's quite a fashion statement, Alice," said Rosalie, looking at the choker and the locket around her neck.

"I like it though," said Alice. "It's a look I think I can pull off."

No one wanted to argue with her on that one. They all thought both necklaces looked great on her. Alice smiled, thanked everyone and sat down with Jasper. It was the best Christmas she'd ever had.

------------

The rest of the school year passed quickly. Before Alice knew it, it was April and time for prom. In just another month, she would be graduating from high school. She had discovered since that time she was a very good artist and had decided to attend Rhode Island School of Design to be a fashion designer. Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie were all still trying to decide on last minute schools. Bella and Edward were still juniors and both were set on Dartmouth. But that night, they had all made a pact to forget about school and college and everything and just have fun at prom.

"Alice, why do I have to have so much makeup?" asked Bella.

"You want to look beautiful for Edward, don't you?" asked Alice.

"Edward thinks I look beautiful in a pair of sweat pants and old T-shirt," said Bella. "All this makeup really isn't necessary."

Alice shook her head and sighed. "What are we going to do with her, Rose?"

"I don't know," said Rose, who was brushing her long, blonde hair so every strand was perfect. "If there's one thing Bella hates more than shopping, it's getting a makeover. I wish you'd lighten up, Bella. This is prom after all."

"I'm only going because you guys are making me," said Bella. "Edward and I were going to blow it off and go next year."

"You'll blow it off next year because we're not going to be here to make you go," said Alice.

"That's why you're going to have to go this year," said Rose. "Now let's go, the guys are waiting."

"Do I have to wear these heels?" asked Bella, looking down at her feet at the deathtraps that were the pair of heels Alice had forced her to wear. "I'm going to fall on my face every five seconds."

"You'll be fine," said Alice. "Now Rose is right, let's go."

The girls walked out of Alice's room and down the stairs to the entry hall where the boys were waiting. Each girl proceeded to walk down the stairs one at a time to impress her individual guy. Rosalie went first. Emmett's eyes bulged out of his head as he saw his girl walk towards him in a floor length, bright red, spaghetti strap, very low cut dress. His mouth fell open and for a second, she thought he was going to start drooling over her.

"Oh grow up, Emmett," she said as she placed a hand under his chin to close his mouth.

Edward rolled his eyes and Jasper shook his head, before turning back to the stairs. Bella came next, in a forest green, ankle-length dress (so she wouldn't trip over the hem) that wrapped loosely around her neck. Edward stared wide-eyed at her as though he thought he'd just entered heaven.

"Not turning into Emmett on me, are you Edward?" she asked.

"O….of course not," he stammered, but he was still gaping at her.

Jasper smiled at them, then turned to look at Alice, who was standing at the top of the stairs. His breath caught in his throat. She was a perfect vision of beauty. She wore a sparkly, strapless royal blue dress that came down midway between her knees and her feet, a pair of white gloves and she had locket and her choker both around her neck. Jasper collected himself quickly, smiled at her and held his arm out for her. She smiled back at him and took it, allowing him to escort her down the hallway to the kitchen to rejoin everyone else.

"Have a good time!" called Esme as they all trooped down the hallway to the garage. Edward and Bella got in the Volvo, Emmett and Rosalie got in the BMW, Jasper and Alice got in the Porsche. When they got to the country club, where prom was being held, they all parked next to each other and walked in together. After getting their pictures taken, one shot of each individual couple, then a group shot, they all started dancing, though Bella had some trepidation about dancing. They all danced the night away, so by the time the last dance began playing, they were all dog tired.

"Alice, may I have this dance?" asked Jasper, bowing his head and extending his hand.

"Do you even need to ask?" she said as she took his hand.

He led her onto the floor and whispered in her ear, "I requested this song just for you."

She raised her eyebrows at him, but when she heard the song, she realized why he'd chosen it. She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest, sighing as she listened to the lyrics and how they articulated his love for her.

_She may be the face I can't forget.  
__A trace of pleasure or regret,  
__May be my treasure or the price I have to pay  
__She may be the song the summer sings,  
__May be the chill the autumn brings  
__May be a hundred different things  
__Within the measure of a day._

_She may be the beauty or the beast,  
__May be the famine or the feast  
__May turn each day into a heaven or a hell.  
__She may be the mirror of my dreams,  
__A smile reflected in the stream,  
__She may not be what she may seem  
__Inside her shell._

_She, who always seems so happy in a crowd  
__Whose eyes can be so private and so proud  
__No one's allowed to see them when they cry.  
__She may be the love that cannot hope to last  
__That comes to me from shadows of the past  
__And I'll remember 'til the day I die._

_She may be the reason I survive,  
__The why and wherefore I'm alive,  
__The one I'll care for through the rough and ready years  
__Me, I'll take her laughter and her tears  
__And make them all my souvenirs  
__For where she goes I've got to be  
__The meaning of my life is she._

_She, oh she…_

Jasper sang the last verse to her and when the song was over, he said, "you are the reason I survive, Alice. My purpose in life is to take care of you, always and forever. And I swear I always will. I love you Alice Cullen and I'll love you until the end of time."

"Oh Jasper," said Alice. "I love you too. I'll never stop loving you ever."

They leaned towards each other and sealed that promise with a kiss. And as their love peaked in that one moment, Alice knew that where she belonged was with Jasper. He was her life, now and forever, and wherever he was was her home. She was finally truly happy and she knew that as long as she stayed with Jasper and the rest of her family, she always would be happy.

**Author's Note:** All right, that was the last chapter! I can't believe this story is over! I had such fun writing it and I hope you guys had as much fun reading it. I'm going to try to come up with more ideas for Jasper and Alice stories in the future since they are my favorite couple. I'm going to have my James and Victoria up in just a little while. I want to work on another of my stories first though. I'm really enjoying "Finding My Flame" though. It's going to be good.

At this time, I'd like to thank all of you who stuck by me with "Runaway Pixie" even when I took two months to get the next chapter up. Without your reviews, I would've stopped writing altogether. Now if you could just leave a few last comments, that'd be awesome. Until next time!


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